Who Shia and Sunni
After the prophet Mohammed's death at the age of 63, clashes arose between the two groups. Because there was no heir of Mohammed to the throne. Now the question is who would be the next imam after him.
Two groups were formed, one group wanted to choose the imam by the way of election which was later called as a Sunni Muslim. While other groups wanted ‘Ali“ is the right successor of the prophet and he should be the imam. Later this group formed as a Shia Muslim.
1. Sunni Schools
There are four major schools in the Sunni sect, which are discussed below:
(a) Hanafi School
It is the first and most famous school in Muslim law. In the world the majority of the population of muslims comes from this school. Earlier this school was known as the Kufa School, which was before the name of the city Koofa in Iraq. Later, this was renamed as Hanafi School based on the name of its founder Abu Hanafee.
The Hanafi School depended on the practices and judgments of the Muslim community because the Prophet had forbidden his teachings and traditions to be recorded. That is why, the Hanafi School codified the custom that was common among Muslims at the time.
(b) Maliki School
This school is named after Malik-bin-Anas, who served as the Mufti of Madeena. During his time, the Koofa was considered as the capital of the Muslim Khalifa, where Imam Abu Haneefa and his followers proliferated with Hanafi Schools.
He worked hard to found around 8000 traditions of the Prophet but compiled only approx 2000 of them for the future generations. The followers of Imam Abu Haneefa established their legal system based on Ijma and Istihsan.
Maliki school emphasizes on the Sunnah and Hadith whereas the Hanafi school gives priority to the Istihsan. According to the Maliki School and Law, they seldom recognize the Ijma.
(c) Shafi School
This school gets its name from Muhammad bin Idris Shaffie, who existed from 767 AD to 820 AD. He studied under Imam Malik (founder of Maliki School) in Medina and later worked with the followers of Imam Abu Hanifa in Kufa.
Imam Shafi was a very intellectual jurist, who combined the concepts and theories of the Hanafi and Maliki Schools in a cohesive way. He is considered one of the greatest jurists in Islam and founded the classical theory of Islamic Jurisprudence. Qiyas (Analogy) was the major contribution of Shafi School.
(d) Hanbali School
Ahmad bin Hanbal was the originator of the Hanbali School which was established in 855 AD. He was the follower of Imam Shafi and advocated Hadith as a right way to understand the life of prophets.
He firmly disagreed with the method of Ijtihad. He presented the concept of tracing the origins of Sunnah and Hadis and sought to find answers to all his inquiries. When Imam Shafie departed for Baghdad, he proclaimed i am the sole jurist superior to him afterward. The companions of the Hanbali school are situated in Syria, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia.
2. Shia Schools
Shia are considered as a minority in the muslim world. There is only about one third population of Shias in the world. The Shia have majority in some countries such as Iran, Iraq, and Bahrain whereas Sunni muslims have majority in over forty countries in the world.
There are three schools of law which come under Shia Sect. Iran is the only state where they possess political power. The three Shia’s school discussed below:
(a) Ithna-Asharis
The adherents of this school are primarily located in the country of Iraq and Iran. The school is based on the principles of Ithna-ashari. Although, shia is in minority among the indian muslim but the majority of shia comes from the Ithna-Ashari School.
They are regarded as political submissives. It is regarded as the predominant school of Shia Muslims.
Ja'fari: It is a fiqh of the Shia which often aligns with one or more of the four Sunni madhahib, except for the fact that mutah is viewed as a permissible form of marriage under Shia. There is belief in the followers of the Ithna Asharis school that the last Imam has vanished and he will return as Mehdi (the Messiah).
(b) The Ismailis
As per the Ismaili school, there are two groups in India: the Khojas and Western Ismailis. They represent himself as followers of Aga Khan, whom they regard as the 49th Imam in this prophetic lineage.
On other hand the Bohras, also called Western Ismailis, are split into two sects Daudis and Sulaymanis. The Bohras and Khojas from Mumbai are regarded as adherents of this school.
3. Other Schools
The main schools in Muslim law are divided in two sects (Sunni and Shia) but apart from this, there are few number of other schools available which are given below:
(a) Ibadi School
The Ibadi School has been traced back to the time of Ali, the fourth Caliph, and is not related with either the Shia or Sunni faiths. This school is mostly found in Oman and gives more priority to the Quran over the Sunnah.
The focus on Ijtihad (personal reasoning), which is partially accepted by Sunnis and completely rejected by Shias, is a notable feature of Ibadi jurisprudence.
(b) Ahmadiya School
In comparison with other schools it is relatively new. The Ahmadiya School professes to be affiliated with Islam but it deviates greatly from the basic principle of Islam. They are commonly referred as Ahmadis or Qadianis, deny Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as the last prophet and were founded in the 19th century by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.
They call themself muslims and on the other hand disregard the fundamental principle of islam which is - “God is one that is Allah and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the last messenger of the God”. Because Ahmadis ideas are against the core Islamic tenets, mainstream Muslim nations reject them as Muslims despite their claims.
Conclusion
Basically, different schools have diverse interpretations of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and the Quran, which serve as the foundation for Muslim law. Although Shia and Sunni sects are the main divisions, there is also internal fragmentation within these sects, each with unique rituals and beliefs. In spite of this variation, all schools eventually go to the same place, much like several routes coming together to achieve a common objective.
