A madhab is not a sect. It is a legal methodology developed by one
of four highly learned imāms in the first two centuries after the Hijrah. All four
rest on Qurʾān + Sunnah; they differ mainly in how they interpret and handle
situations where the text is silent.
An ordinary Muslim does not have to "choose a madhab" as a formal commitment — usually
he follows the fatwās of scholars in his vicinity. For systematic study and consistent
fiqh practice, committing to a single madhab is classically recommended.
Today: Today dominant in: Türkiye, Central Asia, Indo-Pakistan, the Balkans, parts of Egypt/Syria
The eldest of the four. A merchant and jurist. Famous for his analogical reasoning (qiyās) and systematic fiqh. Imprisoned twice by caliphs for refusing government posts. Died in Abbasid captivity.
Methodology: Built fiqh on (1) Qurʾān, (2) Sunnah, (3) consensus (ijmāʿ) of the ṣaḥābah, (4) qiyās, (5) istiḥsān (juridical preference). Was relatively liberal with qiyās — making the school more flexible in modern situations.
Key students: His two greatest students, Abū Yūsuf and Muḥammad ash-Shaybānī, codified his fiqh.
Today: Today dominant in: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, West Africa, Mauritania, parts of Egypt/Sudan
Taught his entire life in Madīnah — rarely left the city. Wrote al-Muwaṭṭaʾ, one of the earliest hadith codices. The caliphs respected him so much that they came to him — he did not stand for them.
Methodology: Heavily focused on the practice of the people of Madīnah (ʿamal Ahl al-Madīnah) — he saw their consensus as living evidence of the Sunnah. Plus Qurʾān, Sunnah, ṣaḥābah-fatwās, qiyās, and maṣlaḥah (public interest).
Key students: ash-Shāfiʿī was his student. Ibn al-Qāsim (codifier of the school via the Mudawwanah).
Today: Today dominant in: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, southern Egypt, East Africa, Jordan, Yemen, Kurdistan
Studied with Mālik in Madīnah and with Shaybānī (Hanafi) in Iraq. Wrote ar-Risālah — the first systematic work on uṣūl al-fiqh (legal methodology). Eventually moved to Egypt where his "new" school (al-jadīd) emerged, distinct from his earlier (al-qadīm) in Iraq.
Methodology: First to codify the hierarchy: (1) Qurʾān, (2) Sunnah (single-chain ahādīth aḥād counts), (3) ijmāʿ, (4) qiyās. Stricter on hadith isnād than Mālik or Abū Ḥanīfah.
Key students: al-Buwayṭī, al-Muzanī, ar-Rabīʿ. Imām Aḥmad was also his student before founding his own school.
Today: Today dominant in: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, parts of Syria, parts of Iraq, parts of the Palestinian territories
First and foremost a hadith master — his Musnad contains around 30,000 ahādīth. Spent 30 months in the Miḥnah inquisition prison for refusing to accept the Muʿtazilī doctrine ("the Qurʾān is created"). Despite torture, he stood by the Sunnah. He became the "Imām of Ahl as-Sunnah" for many because of it.
Methodology: Heavy reliance on Qurʾān + Sunnah, including weak ahādīth above qiyās. Less qiyās than other schools. Considers ṣaḥābah fatwās binding when no direct evidence is available.
Key students: His son ʿAbdullāh, al-Marwazī, al-Khallāl. Later giants of the school: Ibn Qudāmah (al-Mughnī), Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn al-Qayyim.
