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We draw upon two major sources in order to
acquaint ourselves with the Shari'ah of Muhammad (peace be upon him), viz. the Qur'an and
the Hadith. The Qur'an is a divine revelation each and every word of the instructions
issued or the memoirs of the last Prophet's conduct and behaviour, as preserved by those
who were present in his company or those to whom these were handed down by the first
witness. These were later sifted and collected by divines and compiled in the form of
books among which the collections made by Malik, Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmizi, Abu
Dawud, Nasa'i and Ibn Majah are considered to be the most authentic.
Detailed law derived from the Qur'an and the
Ahadith covering the myriads from of problems that arise in the course of man's life have
been compiled by some of the leading legists in the past. Thus the Muslim Peoples shall
for ever be grateful to those men of leading and vision who devoted their lives to gaining
a mastery of the Qur'an and the Hadith who made it easy for every Muslim to fashion his
everyday affairs according to the requirements of the Shari'ah. It is due to them alone
that the Muslims all over the world can follow the Shari'ah easily even though their
attainments in religion are never such that they could themselves give a correct and
authentic interpretation to the Qur'an or the Ahadith.
Though in the beginning a large number of
religious leaders applied themselves to the task now only four major school of thought
remain. They are:
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Fiqh-e-Hanafi: This is the Fiqh
compiled by Abu Hanifa Nu'man bin Thabit with the assistance and cooperation of Abu
Yusuf,
Muhammad, Zufar, and others all of whom had high religious attainments to their credit.
This is known as the Hanafi School of Fiqh.
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Fiqh-e-Maliki: This Fiqh was
derived by Malik bin Anas Asbahi.
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Fiqh-e-Shafi'i: Founded by
Muhammad bin Idress al-Shafi'i.
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Fiqh-e-Hanbali: Founded by
Ahmed bin Hanbal.
All of these were given the final form within two
hundred years of the time of the Prophet. The difference that appear in the four school
are but the natural outcome of the fact that is many sided. When different persons employ
themselves in interpreting a given event, they come out with explanations according to
their own lights. What gives these various schools of thought the authenticity that is
associated with them is the unimpeachable integrity of their respective founders and
the authenticity of the method they adopted. That's why all Muslims, whatever school they
may belong to regard all the four schools of Fiqh goes unchallenged, one can follow only
one of them in one's life, though there is the group of Ahl-i-Hadith who believe that
those who have the required knowledge and learning should directly approach the Qur'an and
the Hadith for guidance and those who are not bestowed with such knowledge and faculties
should follow whomsoever they may choose to in a particular matter.
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