Fiqh taraqqiyotining bu davrida mazhablarning rivojlanishiga oid ikkita asosiy yo'nalish kuzatildi. Birinchisi mazhablarning asoschisi bo'lgan buyuk imomlar va ularning yirik shogirdlari davrida yuz berdi. Bu mazhablar tez orada alohida yo'nalishlarga aylanib borgan bo'lsa-da, ular oldingi davrlarga xos bo'lgan huquqiy hukmlarni chiqarish va qabul qilishdagi moslashuvchanlik an'anasini davom ettirdilar. Ikkinchi yo'nalish esa mazhablarning buyuk olimlari vafotidan keyingi davrni o'z ichiga oladi. Bu davrda huquqiy hukmlarni chiqarish va qabul qilishda qat'iylik paydo bo'la boshladi. Bu qat'iylik keyingi avlodlarda mazhablarning, shuningdek, fiqhning asosiy xususiyatiga aylandi.

In the development of Fiqh during this period, there were two major trends relating to the evolution of the Madh-habs. The first occurred during the period of the Great Imaams, founders of the major Madh-habs, and their major students. Although these Madhhabs were fast becoming distinct entities, they continued the tradition of flexibility in making and accepting legal rulings which had characterized the earlier periods. The second trend covered the period following the death of the major scholars of the Madh-habs. It represents the beginning of that rigidity in making and accepting legal rulings which is the main characteristic of Madh-habs, and consequently of Fiqh, in succeeding generations.

Buyuk imomlar davridida (miloddan avvalgi emas, milodiy 750–850 yillar) va ularning yirik shogirdlari davrida fiqh taraqqiyotiga quyidagi omillar ta'sir ko'rsatdi.

The development of Fiqh in the period of the Great Imaams (750-850 CE) and their major students was affected by the following factors.

Erta Abbosiy xalifalar Islom huquqi (shariat) va uning olimlariga katta hurmat ko‘rsatishni namoyon qilardilar. Buning sababi shundaki, ular o‘z lavozimlarini shariatga asoslangan va uning to‘g‘ri talqiniga tayangan xalifalikka qaytishni talab qilish da’vosiga borlar edi. Shu sababli, bu davrdagi Abbosiy xalifalar o‘z farzandlarini zamonaviy yirik olimlar huzurida ta’lim olishga yuborishdan faxrlanardilar, hatto ba’zi xalifalar o‘z-o‘zidan Islom huquqi olimlariga aylandilar; masalan, Xorun ar-Rashid (hukmronlik davri miloddan avvalgi 786–809 yillar) shunday edi. Bundan tashqari, bu xalifalar fiqhning aksariyat masalalarida ko‘zga ko‘ringan Islom olimlaridan maslahat so‘rash odatini tutdilar. Buning klassik misoli Imom Molik bilan bog‘liq: xalifa al-Mansur uni Payg‘ambar ﷺ sunnatining ishonchli kitobini tuzishga topshirdi. Kitob tugagach, xalifa Molikdan uni davlat konstitutsiyasi sifatida qabul qilish mumkinligi haqida maslahat so‘radi, bu esa Imom Molik mazhabini barcha musulmonlar uchun majburiy qilgan bo‘lardi. Biroq Imom buni rad etdi, chunki u bilardiki, uning to‘plami faqat Imom Molik dars bergan va o‘z mazhabiga asos solgan Hijozda mavjud bo‘lgan Payg‘ambar ﷺ hadislarini o‘z ichiga olgan. U qat’iy hisoblardiki, hech qanday yagona mazhab barcha musulmonlar uchun majburiy bo‘lmasligi kerak, chunki har qanday yagona mazhab davlatning boshqa hududlariga sayohat qilgan sahobalar rivoyat qilgan ko‘plab boshqa hadislarni chetlab o‘tardi. Bu mazhablar asoschilariga xos bo‘lgan moslashuvchanlikning aniq misolidir. Fiqh olimlariga davlat tomonidan ko‘rsatilgan yordam va homiylik Umaviylar davrining so‘nggi qismida paydo bo‘lgan ko‘plab mazhablarning gullab-yashnashiga katta hissa qo‘shdi.

The early ‘Abbaasid Caliphs made a show of great respect for Islamic law and its scholars. The reason for this lay in the fact that they owed their office to their claim that they were seeking a return to a caliphate based on Sharee’ah and its legitimate interpretation. Consequently, the ‘Abbaasid caliphs of this period all took pride in sending their children to study under the major scholars of the time, and, what is more, some of the caliphs became scholars of Islamic law in their own right; for example, Caliph Haroon arRasheed (rule 786-809 CE). Furthermore, these caliphs made a practice of consulting the outstanding Islamic scholars on most matters of Fiqh. A classical example is that of Imaam Maalik whom Caliph al-Mansoor commissioned to compile an authoritative book of the Sunnah of the Prophet (s.w.). On its completion, the Caliph consulted Maalik about allowing him to make it the state constitution, which would have made the Madh-hab of Imaam Maalik binding on all Muslims. However, the Imaam refused to have it done, since he was aware that his compilation including only those Hadeeths of the Prophet (s.w.) that were available in Hijaaz where Imaam Maalik had taught and founded his Madh-hab. He felt strongly that no single Madh-hab should be binding on all Muslims in view of the fact that any single Madh-hab would exclude the many other Hadeeths narrated by Sahaabah who had traveled to other parts of the state.111This is a clear example of that flexibility which characterized the founders of the Madh-habs. The factor of state support and patronization of Fiqh scholars contributed largely to the flourishing of the many Madh-habs which had arisen in the latter part of the Umayyad period.

Olimlar yoki ularning shogirdlari uchrashganda, o'z hududlarida paydo bo'lgan turli islomiy masalalar haqida fikr almashardilar. Muayyan yechim borasida jiddiy ixtilof bo'lsa, umumiy xulosaga kelguncha yoki turli variantlar qabul qilinguncha bahs-munozara qilishardi.

Whenever scholars or their students met, they would exchange thoughts on various Islamic issues which had arisen in their particular areas. If there was a major difference of opinion about a particular solution, they would debate back and forth until a common conclusion was reached or various options were accepted.

Bu huquqiy munozaralar pochta orqali ham olib borilgan, masalan, Imom Molik bilan Imom al-Laysiy o'rtasidagi Madina urf-odatlari haqidagi munozarada bo'lganidek.114

These legal debates also took place by mail, as in the case of the debate between Imaam Maalik and Imaam al-Layth about Madeenite customs.114

Mazhablarning asoschilari va turli mazhab tarafdorlari o'rtasida, xat orqali yoki yuzma-yuz o'tkazilgan munozara majlislarining soni keskin ortishi natijasida ayrim muhim masalalar aniqlashtirildi va fiqh olimlari orasidagi noto'g'ri hukmlar va xulosalar ajratib olindi.

The huge increase in the number of debating sessions, whether by mail or in face to face meetings between founders and students of various Madh-habs resulted in the clarification of certain important issues and the seeding out of mistaken rulings or judgements among scholars of Islamic law.

Madhhablarning shakllanishining bu dastlabki bosqichida olimlar va ularning shogirdlari orasida qat’iylik yoki dogmatizm sezilarli darajada kam edi. Ya’ni masalalar xolisona tahlil qilinar va xulosalar keltirilgan dalillarning to‘g‘riligiga asoslanib chiqarilardi. Darhaqiqat, Imom Abu Hanifa va Imom Shofiʼiy o‘z so‘zlarida, agar biror hadis to‘g‘riligi ma’lum bo‘lsa, o‘sha hadisning o‘zi ularning madhhabi hisoblanishi kerakligini bildirgan. Bunga ibratli misol sifatida xamr va boshqa mast qiluvchi ichimliklar ichishga oid hukmni keltirish mumkin. Hanafiy madhhabining asoschisi Imom Abu Hanifa xamr haqidagi islomiy taqiqning faqat uzumning bijg‘itilgan sharbati mahsulotiga (xamr so‘zining lug‘aviy ma’nosiga) taalluqli ekanligini aytgan.

In this early stage in the development of Madh-habs there was a marked lack of rigidity or dogmatism on the part of scholars and their students. That is, issues were objectively analyzed and conclusions arrived at on the basis of the validity of the proofs presented. In fact Imaam Abu Haneefah and Imaam Shafi’ee were on record as stating that if a Hadeeth was known to be accurate, then that should be considered their Madh-hab. A noteworthy example concerns the law relating to the drinking of Khamr and other intoxicants. Imaam Abu Haneefah, founder of the Hanafee Madhhab, had ruled that the Islamic prohibition of Khamr covered only the product of fermented grape juice (the literal meaning of Khamr)