Shafi, Hanafi..is there such thing?

[far-hana]

:salams

I have a question..

Is there such thing as Shafi and Hanafi??
Aren't we all supposed to be muslims..?
I dun see why we have to separate muslims into categories..

I hope someone will clear my doubt...

[al faqeer]

asalaamu alaikum

We are all muslims , Shafie , Hanafi , Maliki, Hanbali , are schools of thought :

The word madhhab is derived from an Arabic word meaning "to go" or "to take as a way", and refers to a mujtahids choice in regard to a number of interpretive possibilities in deriving the rule of Allah from the primary texts of the Qur'an and hadith on a particular question. In a larger sense, a madhhab represents the entire school of thought of a particular mujtahid Imam, such as Abu Hanifa, Malik, Shafi'i, or Ahmad--together with many first-rank scholars that came after each of these in their respective schools, who checked their evidences and refined and upgraded their work. The mujtahid Imams were thus explainers, who operationalized the Qur'an and sunna in the specific shari'a rulings in our lives that are collectively known as fiqh or "jurisprudence". In relation to our din or "religion", this fiqh is only part of it, for the religious knowledge each of us possesses is of three types. The first type is the general knowledge of tenets of Islamic belief in the oneness of Allah, in His angels, Books, messengers, the prophethood of Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace), and so on. All of us may derive this knowledge directly from the Qur'an and hadith, as is also the case with a second type of knowledge, that of general Islamic ethical principles to do good, avoid evil, cooperate with others in good works, and so forth. Every Muslim can take these general principles, which form the largest and most important part of his religion, from the Qur'an and hadith.

Sunni Muslims believe that all four schools have "correct guidance", and the differences between them lie not in the fundamentals of faith, but in finer judgements and jurisprudence, which are a result of the independent reasoning of the imams and the scholars who followed them.

So they are jurisprudence explinations derived from the Quran and sunnah , and people adopted these names as per geographic location.

[far-hana]

asalaamu alaikum

We are all muslims , Shafie , Hanafi , Maliki, Hanbali , are schools of thought :



Sunni Muslims believe that all four schools have "correct guidance", and the differences between them lie not in the fundamentals of faith, but in finer judgements and jurisprudence, which are a result of the independent reasoning of the imams and the scholars who followed them.

So they are jurisprudence explinations derived from the Quran and sunnah , and people adopted these names as per geographic location.

:wswrwb:
thankew for the explanation..I didnt really know that :o
Actually..I've seen ppl calling themselves shafi..hanafi..etc
n each of them have their own way of performing salaah..that was wad which provoked that qn of mine..aren't we supposed to follow rasullallah's way of performing salaah..? Why is that that shafi's have diff way of performing salah..and hanafi's have their own way..?

[Peacenik]

:salams

I have a question..

Is there such thing as Shafi and Hanafi??
Aren't we all supposed to be muslims..?
I dun see why we have to separate muslims into categories..

I hope someone will clear my doubt...

I had the same thoughts many moons ago, but it's not as easy as that :)

[Medievalist]

:wswrwb:
thankew for the explanation..I didnt really know that :o
Actually..I've seen ppl calling themselves shafi..hanafi..etc
n each of them have their own way of performing salaah..that was wad which provoked that qn of mine..aren't we supposed to follow rasullallah's way of performing salaah..? Why is that that shafi's have diff way of performing salah..and hanafi's have their own way..?

There are different narrations regarding how Nabi :saw: prayed salaah so its not like the shafi'ee made up their own namaaz and the hanafis follow the sunnah way, or vica versa. The differences are based on evidence and as you gave the example of salaah I'll just expand slightly.

Between the Hanafis and the Shafi'ees one difference is the issue of raising the hands when going into Ruku. The Shafi'ee will do it, the Hanafee won't. What is noteworthy is that both the Shafi'ee and Hanafee will accept that the raising of the hands is sunnah and both will also accept that not raising it is a sunnah aswell - the question thus becomes one of virtuosity. By the Hanafee it is more virtuous NOT to raise and they have their evidence; by the shafi'ee it is more virtuous TO raise and they have their evidence. From this it can be seen that these differences are not a means to division but rather a sign of intellectual and religious maturity.

The Ulama further explain that one of the hidden mercies in this difference is the fact that ALL the sunnah's of the Nabi :saw: are kept alive till the Day of Judgement - the sunnah of raising the hands before ruku is kept alive by the Shafi'ee, the sunnah of not raising the hands is kept alive by the Hanafee. Thats how wonderful our deen is - subhanALLAH.

[Peacenik]

Well said, Bro Med :)

[far-hana]

There are different narrations regarding how Nabi :saw: prayed salaah so its not like the shafi'ee made up their own namaaz and the hanafis follow the sunnah way, or vica versa. The differences are based on evidence and as you gave the example of salaah I'll just expand slightly.

Between the Hanafis and the Shafi'ees one difference is the issue of raising the hands when going into Ruku. The Shafi'ee will do it, the Hanafee won't. What is noteworthy is that both the Shafi'ee and Hanafee will accept that the raising of the hands is sunnah and both will also accept that not raising it is a sunnah aswell - the question thus becomes one of virtuosity. By the Hanafee it is more virtuous NOT to raise and they have their evidence; by the shafi'ee it is more virtuous TO raise and they have their evidence. From this it can be seen that these differences are not a means to division but rather a sign of intellectual and religious maturity.

The Ulama further explain that one of the hidden mercies in this difference is the fact that ALL the sunnah's of the Nabi :saw: are kept alive till the Day of Judgement - the sunnah of raising the hands before ruku is kept alive by the Shafi'ee, the sunnah of not raising the hands is kept alive by the Hanafee. Thats how wonderful our deen is - subhanALLAH.

mashallah...!
I get it now...hope our deen stays as strong forever...inshallah!

[Mr.Wahdy]

:salams

I have a question..

Is there such thing as Shafi and Hanafi??
Aren't we all supposed to be muslims..?
I dun see why we have to separate muslims into categories..

I hope someone will clear my doubt...

Yes, we are all muslims, and should strive to follow the Qur'an and Sunnah. This means that we should not allow ourselves to label each other as "Shafi" or "Hanbali" but instead, take the correct opinion from the four madhabs. (The one with the strongest proof)...which is probably what most of us already do. :)

[khanbaba]

Yes, we are all muslims, and should strive to follow the Qur'an and Sunnah. This means that we should not allow ourselves to label each other as "Shafi" or "Hanbali" but instead, take the correct opinion from the four madhabs. (The one with the strongest proof)...which is probably what most of us already do. :)

And who decide which is the correct/strongest opinion? Is if was that easy, everyone would be following just 1 imam or madhab/ruling.

[_imran_]

And who decide which is the correct/strongest opinion? Is if was that easy, everyone would be following just 1 imam or madhab/ruling.

As it says in Fataawa al-Lajnah, no. 3323:

Whoever is qualified to derive rulings from the Qur’aan and Sunnah, and has strong knowledge in that regard, even if that is with the help of the legacy of fiqh that we have inherited from earlier scholars of Islam, has the right to do that, so he can act upon it himself and explain it in disputes and issue fatwas to those who consult him. Whoever is not qualified to do that has to ask trustworthy people who so that he may learn the rulings from their books and act upon that, without limiting his asking or his reading to one of the scholars of the four madhhabs. Rather people refer to the four imams because they are so well known and their books are well written and widely available.

[FollowerOfMuhammad]

:salams

I have a question..
Is there such thing as Shafi and Hanafi??
Aren't we all supposed to be muslims..?
I dun see why we have to separate muslims into categories..
I hope someone will clear my doubt...

Schools of thought are not sects.

[far-hana]

Schools of thought are not sects.

yes..i know it now...after those kind explanation from al-faqeer n Medievalist..

[mmsheikh]

Assalamualaikum brother. MashALLAh thats very well said. I totally agree! Instead of using madhabs to divide the ummah (as some people do), muslims should actually benefit from the knowledge of all the four imams and act according to the opinion that is based on the strongest evidence from the Quran and the Sunnah of the Messenger (SAAW) of ALLAH (SWT).

[FollowerOfMuhammad]

Instead of using madhabs to divide the ummah (as some people do).

And how did Madhabs divide the Ummah?