what is a madhhab(sharia).pdf

Introduction

Earlier this year, a debate between the grand imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb and Mohamed Othman al-Khosht, President of Cairo University went viral.[1] Khosht argued that Islam needs renewal by returning to the Qur’an and authentic Sunnah. He blamed tradition for preventing advancement in the modern Muslim world. He argued that Islamic tradition had become stagnant and that if Muḥammad b. Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī (d. 204/820) was alive today he would have also sought to renew Islamic law. Tayyeb responded with a passionate rebuttal and defense of Islamic tradition. He noted that even the idea of religious renewal is from the tradition itself, not from outside. He compared Khosht to someone who seeks to renovate his father’s home but opts to buy a new one instead.[2] Khosht is not alone; many modern Muslims view the Islamic legal tradition as needing a complete overhaul. A consistent theme among several reformers of the 18th-20th centuries has been a call to bypass the madhhabs and approach the Qur’an and Sunnah anew.

These reformers and intellectuals portray Islamic law to be inferior to Western law and this generates a lack of confidence in the Islamic legal

tradition.

To the uninitiated, the topic of Islamic law may appear to be limited to scholarly circles, but in fact debates about the place of the madhhabs and their relationship to the Qur’an and Sunnah take place in mosques, online, and at dinner tables. The doctrines of ijtihād and taqlīd touch a particularly sensitive nerve in Muslim circles because they are tied to religious authority. Where one stands on the issue is often an indication of their larger approach

toward scripture and Islamic legal tradition.

All Muslims seek to follow the Qur’an and Sunnah. But the larger question is

how does this actually occur? Average Muslims understandably feel

overwhelmed by the complexity of Islamic law and prefer an easier and straightforward explanation of Islam. In the age of instant gratification, modern sensibilities are often consumed with a flagrant sense of certainty where people want to Google the facts and quickly find answers for themselves. There is a yearning for a legal system that is spelled out in an incontestable manner, but law is naturally complex and this is why lawyers

are usually hired to interpret the law.

In the modern context, or “post-truth” era, there is a tendency to bypass experts and seek answers oneself. The internet allows people to mimic intellectual accomplishments by indulging in an illusion of expertise supported by an unlimited number of facts[3]. In the religious context, these facts or dalīls are often used by competing groups of Muslims to represent the “true” and “authentic” meaning of Islam. This often results in confusion and

increased doubt concerning Islamic legal tradition.

The

madhhab

s are sometimes misunderstood to not be based on scripture. It

is not uncommon for some Muslims to state that they don’t follow a madhhab, but rather follow the Qur’an and Sunnah. This approach to the Islamic legal schools is based on the incorrect assumption that they are simply the guesswork or opinions of a few jurists that are not based on evidence but based on the simple personal opinion of jurists. This misunderstanding creates a disconnect between the Muslim and fiqh. I will attempt to show that

the madhhabs always base their legal opinions on scripture.

The main purpose of this article is to help the reader understand what

the madhhabs are and their function in Islamic law. First, I will provide a brief overview of what the madhhabs are and how they emerged. Next, I will discuss the nature of the Qur’an and Sunnah and the need for legal expertise. Then I will shed light on why there might appear to be some tensions between legal opinions of the madhhabs and the apparent meaning of scripture. Finally, I conclude by returning to the idea of reform and Islamic

law. This will hopefully provide the reader with an appreciation of the nature,