Kerajaan Umayyah berkuasa selama kira-kira satu abad, bermula dari kematian khalifah Khulafa' Ar-Rasyidin yang terakhir, 'Alee bin Abee Taalib, pada tahun 661 M, dan kebangkitan pengasas dinasti Umayyah, Khalifah Mu'aawiyah bin Abee Sufyaan, sehingga khalifah Umayyah yang terakhir pada sekitar pertengahan abad kelapan M.

The Umayyads were in power for approximately one century, extending from the death of the last of the Righteous Caliphs (‘Alee ibn Abee Taalib) in 661 CE and the ascendancy of the founder of the Umayyad dynasty, Caliph Mu’aawiyah ibn Abee Sufyaan, until the last of the Umayyad caliphs around the middle of the eighth century CE.

Tempoh itu ditandai dengan pergolakan sosial yang besar; Ummah terpecah kepada pelbagai mazhab dan puak; khilafah bertukar menjadi kerajaan beraja; banyak amalan baharu diperkenalkan, sebahagiannya adalah haram; dan para ulama enggan duduk dalam majlis-majlis khalifah, malah berpindah ke kawasan pinggiran untuk mengelak konflik dan kekeliruan.99

The period was marked by great social unrest; the Ummah divided into various sects and factions; the caliphate was converted into a kingship; many new practices were introduced, some of which were Haraam; the scholars refused to sit in the audiences of the caliphs and in fact fled to outlying areas to avoid conflict and confusion.99

Setakat yang berkaitan dengan Hukum Islam dan perkembangan Mazhab-mazhab, tempoh ini memperlihatkan tiga aliran utama. Pertama sekali, berlaku peningkatan yang ketara dalam bilangan Ijtihad yang dikeluarkan oleh para ulama, kerana Ijmak menjadi semakin sukar selepas para ulama tersebar ke kawasan-kawasan pinggiran khilafah.

So far as Islamic Law and the evolution of Madh-habs are concerned, this period is noteworthy for three main trends. In the first place, there was a notable increase in the number of Ijtihaads given by scholars, since Ijmaa’ became more and more difficult following the dispersal of scholars to outlying areas of the caliphate.

Kedua, riwayat-riwayat hadith menjadi tersebar luas dan kecenderungan untuk mereka-reka hadith semakin meningkat. Akhirnya, zaman ini menandakan permulaan usaha pertama untuk menghimpunkan fiqh, yang bertujuan memelihara ijtihad para Sahabat. Pada zaman inilah juga para ulama Hukum Islam mula terbahagi kepada mazhab-mazhab pemikiran yang agak jelas, lalu mewujudkan pelbagai Madhhab yang pada zaman berikutnya dikurangkan kepada empat mazhab utama.

Secondly, the narrations of Hadeeth became widespread and there was an increasing tendency towards fabrication of Hadeeth. Finally, the period marked the first attempts at compilation of Fiqh, which was aimed at preserving the Ijtihaads of the Sahaabah. It was in this period too that scholars of Islamic Law first divided into fairly clearcut schools of thought, establishing various Madh-habs which in later periods were reduced to four major ones.