Lesson Six - Development of Fiqh from 1258

Development of Fiqh from 1258 

By this stage from ten Madhab the four prominent Madhab alongside the Dhairi madhab had followers. (Until the 1400, when the state of Spain was conquered the Dhairi Madhab also disappeared)

Reasons for the disappearance of some of the Madhabs

• Teacher never instructed his students to compile and record his point of view in legal opinions.
• The less common Madhabs were replaced by prominent Madhabs. Students opting to study the common madhab.
• Students did not hold a high position within the society to teach the Madhab.

Alongside the the establishment of Four Madhabs, Muhadituun complied hadith.

The scholars that came in this era (After 1258), focussed on writing commentaries ion the Madhabs and the books of Hadith.

Famous commentators on books complied by their predecessors.

Imam Ahmed Ibn Taymiyya – (1263 – 1328)

Imam Nawai (1233- 1277)

Imam Ibn Qayyim – (1292 – 1350)

Ibn Hajar – (1372 – 1448)

They did not write their own books but wrote commentaries on the Prophet's life using the research left behind by the predecessors.

They recognised the brilliance of these Imams and accepted their research and elaborated on it. Hence, they would be given a title on the Madhab they followed. For example,

Ibn Barr Al Maliki,

Imam Nawawi As Sha'fee

Ibn Abidin Al Hanafi

Ibn Qudama Al Hanbali

Ibn Hajar As Sha'fee

Ibn Nujaym Al Hanafi

Imam Ghazali As Sha'fee

Ibn Kathir As Sha'fee

• The Imams from this period studied extensively with sincerity the research of the Imams that came before them.
• As they studied extensively, they had the opportunity to analyse the books of Ahadith which were not complied in the time of the four Imams.
• They acknowledged the research of the previous Imams, and if they had a view they would note it.
• Hence, if they determined a specific hadith is more preferred to a ruling they would bring in the hadith and change the ruling. That's why a person find many different opinions of a ruling within one madhab.
• They never differed in Usul only in Fur'oo.
• During this period books became organised in chapters.

Important point: When the term 'following a Madha'b is used, it means 'following the research of a person's understanding on the life of the Prophet'.

Why did the formation of forming Madhabs stop there? Why after the four Imams had established their Madhabs there are no more Madhabs? Do I have to follow a madhab or can I follow the research of a individual?

Analyse a concise book by Abdul Hakim Murad named, 'Understanding the four Madhabs'.