Pendiri mazhab ini, Daawood ibn ‘Alee, lahir di Kufah pada tahun 815 M. Pada awalnya ia mempelajari fiqih di bawah murid-murid Imam asy-Syafi‘i, namun kemudian ia condong kepada studi hadis dan bergabung dengan majelis hadis Imam Ahmad ibn Hambal. Ia terus belajar di bawah Ahmad hingga akhirnya ia diusir dari kelas-kelas Ahmad karena ia menyuarakan pendapat bahwa Al-Qur’an itu muhdath (baru ada) dan karena itu makhluk (diciptakan).

The founder of this school of thought, Daawood ibn ‘Alee, was born in Kufah in the year 815 CE. His early Fiqh studies were under Imaam ash-Shaafi’ee’s students, but he later inclined towards the study of Hadeeth and joined the Hadeeth circle of Imaam Ahmad ibn Hambal. He continued to study under Ahmad until he was expelled from Ahmad’s classes because he voiced the opinion that the Quraan was Muhdath (newly existent) and therefore created.

Setelah diusir, ia menempuh jalan ijtihad yang mandiri dengan berpegang pada makna-makna yang tampak dan literal (ZHahir) dari teks-teks Al-Qur'an dan Sunnah. Karena pendekatan ini, mazhabnya disebut Mazhab Zhahiri, dan ia dikenal sebagai Dawud Azh-Zhahiri.148

After his expulsion, he took and independent path of reasoning based on the obvious and literal meanings (DHaahir) of the texts of the Qur’aan and the Sunnah. Because of this approach, his Madh-hab was called the DHaahiree Madh-hab and he became known as Daawood adH-DHaahiree.148

Seperti halnya para Imam lainnya, Daawood memandang Al-Qur'an sebagai sumber utama hukum Islam, kemudian diikuti oleh Sunnah. Namun, ia hanya menganggap sah penafsiran harfiah dari teks-teks tersebut. Artinya, teks-teks itu hanya boleh diterapkan pada keadaan tertentu yang dijelaskannya.

Like all of the other Imaams, Daawood considered the Qur’aan to be the foremost source of Islamic law follwed by the Sunnah. However, only literal interpretations of their texts were insidered by him to be valid . that is, they were only to be applied in the particular circumstances which they described.

Imam Daawud menganggap kuat ijmak para Sahabat. Beliau berpendapat bahwa kesepakatan mereka hanya mungkin terjadi pada hukum-hukum yang telah diwahyukan kepada Nabi ﷺ dan diketahui oleh para Sahabat, tetapi karena suatu sebab tidak diriwayatkan sebagai hadis.

Imaam Daawood gave credence to the Ijmaa’ of the Sahaabah, He reasoned that their unanimity would only have been on points of law revealed to the Prophet (s.w.) and known to the Sahaabah, but not narrated as Hadeeths for some reason or other.

Oleh karena itu, ijma' para Sahabat tidak dianggap oleh beliau sebagai hasil dari penalaran (qiyas).

There fore, the Ijmaa’ of the Sahaabah were not considered by himas resulting from reasoning (Qiyaas).

Karena Imam Daawud membatasi penerapan Al-Qur'an dan Sunnah pada makna harfiahnya, ia secara otomatis menolak keabsahan hukum-hukum yang didasarkan pada bentuk pendapat akal apa pun, termasuk Qiyas.149 Namun, prinsip Mafhum (makna yang dipahami) yang ia terapkan pada Al-Qur'an dan Sunnah sebagai pengganti Qiyas ternyata hampir tidak dapat dibedakan dari Qiyas (penalaran analogis).150

Since Imaam Daawood limited the application of the Qur’aan and the Sunnah to their literal meaning, he automatically denied the validity of rulings based on any form of reasoned opinion, including Qiyaas.149 However, the principle of Mafhoom (understood meaning) which he applied to the Qur’aan and Sunnah in place of Qiyaas turned out to be virtually indistinguishable from Qiyaas (analogical deduction)150

Karena ruang lingkup Madzhab Zhahiri yang terbatas serta tidak adanya ulama terkemuka yang meneruskan prinsip dan hukum-hukumnya, madzhab ini tidak bertahan lama. Bahkan, madzhab ini tidak berhasil mendapatkan pijakan di wilayah mana pun dalam kekhalifahan Islam selama hidup Imam Daud, maupun dalam kurun seratus lima puluh tahun setelah wafatnya.

Due to the limited scope of the DHaahiree Madh-hab and the absense of outstanding scholars to pass on its principles and rulings, it did not last very long. In fact, it did not get a foothold in any area of the Muslim empire during Imaam Daawood’s lifetime, nor in the century and a half which followed his death.

Pada masa-masa belakangan, setiap ulama yang menolak keabsahan Qiyaas dicap sebagai Zhaahiriyyah, padahal mereka sebenarnya tidak pernah belajar kepada Daawud atau murid-muridnya, bahkan tidak pernah membaca karya-karya mereka.

In later times, all scholars who denied the validity of Qiyaas were labelled as DHaahirees, even though they had not actually studied under Daawood or his students, or even read their works.

Murid yang paling terkenal dari Madzhab Zhahiriyah adalah seorang ulama Spanyol yang brilian pada abad ke-11 M bernama ‘Ali bin Ahmad bin Hazm al-Andalusi (wafat 1070 M). Ibnu Hazm menghidupkan kembali madzhab ini dan membelanya dalam banyak karya luar biasa yang ia tulis di berbagai bidang kajian Islam; misalnya, Ihkam al-Ahkam di bidang Ushul al-Fiqh, al-Fishal dalam ilmu kalam, dan al-Muhalla dalam fiqih. Berkat upaya tak kenal lelah Ibnu Hazm, madzhab ini berkembang di Spanyol Islam, di mana ia tumbuh subur, dan dari sana menyebar ke sebagian wilayah Afrika Utara dan tempat lainnya. Madzhab ini tetap dominan di Spanyol hingga negara Islam mulai runtuh di sana pada awal tahun 1400-an. Dengan lenyapnya negara Islam Andalus, madzhab ini pun ikut hilang, hanya meninggalkan sejumlah karya ilmiah, yang sebagian besar ditulis oleh Ibnu Hazm sendiri.151

The most noted student of the DHaahiree Madh-hab was a brilliant 11th century CE Spanish scholar named ‘Alee ibn Ahmad ibn Hazm al-Andaloosee (died 1070 CE). Ibn Hazm revived this Madh-hab and defended it in the numerous outstanding works which he wrote in various fields of Islamic study; for example, Ihkaam alAhkaam in the field of Usool al-Fiqh, al-Fisal in theology and alMuhallaa in Fiqh. Due to Ibn Hazm’s tireless efforts, the Madh-hab took hold in Islamic Spain where it flourished, and from there it spread to some areas of North Africa and elsewhere. It remained prevalent in Spain until the Islamic State began to crumble there in the early 1400’s. Whith the disappearance of the Muslim state of Andalus, the Madh-hab also disappeared, leaving behind only a number of scholarly writings, most of which were done by Ibn Hazm himself.151