5 The Madh-habs: Schools Of Islamic Legal Thought
In The Previous Chapters We Have Seen The Evolution Of The Madh-hab127 Within The Historical Context Of The Overall Development Of Fiqh. During The Era Of Prophethood, The Foundations Of Fiqh Were Laid Down In The Prophet Mohammed’s Ijtihaads (reasoned Rulings) As Well As Those Of His Sahaabah (followers). During That Stage, Divine Revelation In The Form Of The Qur’aan And The Sunnah (the Life Style Of The Prophet (s.w.) Constituted The Only Source Of Islamic Law. In Other Words, There Was Only One School Of Thought (Madh-hab): That Of The Prophet (s.w.).
In the following stage, that of the Righteous Caliphs, the Fiqh principle of Ijmaa’ (decisions by unanimity) evolved and Ijtihaad became an independent principle of Fiqh under the name Qiyaas. The Madh-hab during theis period was, in rality, that of each of the Righteous Caliphs, since the final say in legal matters rested with them. However, all legal decisions were subject to alteration on the basis of recorded statements or practices of the Prophet (s.w.): that is, Hadeeth. Therefore there was no room for rigidity of factionalism.
The early period of the Umayyad dynasty saw the division of Fiqh scholars into two main Madh-habs with respect to Ijtihaad: Ahl ar-Ra’i and Ahl al-Hadeeth. These two Madh-habs evolved into a number of new Madh-habs during the shift from caliphate to monarchy when the caliph/King was no longer the head of the Madhhab. Since scholars and their students were dispersed throughout the Umayyad state, their personal Ijtihaad increased in order to solve local issues. It should be noted, however, that during both the period of the Umayyads and that of the early ‘Abbaasids, students of Fiqh freely and frequently changed teachers and exchanged legal opinions. In effect, therefore, the flexibility of the previous was maintained.