A shame on the turtledove, maybe better luck next year, with more nurturing this TL
Nah, i'm not disappointed at all, i'm glad that i made into it in the first place, and happy that you people continue supporting this TL through the last seven-eight months :), next chapter coming out in the next days.
 
Nah, i'm not disappointed at all, i'm glad that i made into it in the first place, and happy that you people continue supporting this TL through the last seven-eight months :), next chapter coming out in the next days.
Not problem in that regard buddy, keep working hard, maybe next year you could reap a reward on it
 
I finally got time for writing this, I was busy with virtual classes and the quarantine so I forgot 😳. Hope y'all are safe in this strange times.
Anyway I was kinda troubled when reading about early schools of islam because I noticed that a lot of the ones that no longer exist are only know by the word of their enemies so we can be certain they believed what it's said they believed. Also I was a little unsure which was the best way to classify the different schools, the sunni-shia axis is an obvious one but we also have the debates regarding hadiths and rational interpretations of scriptures, debates on who is a muslim and what happens if a muslim sins, debates on the nature of God and debates on takfir. What I am gonna post is merely the tip of the iceberg but is a good introductions, yet it's probably better to read the full wikipedia article and then go further with primary sources.

Schools of Islamic theology

Schools of Islamic theology are various Islamic schools and branches in different schools of thought regarding aqidah (creed). According to Muhammad Abu Zahra, Qadariyah, Jahmis, Murji'ah, Muʿtazila, Batiniyya, Ash'ari, Maturidi, Athari are the ancient schools of aqidah.
The main split between Sunni and Shia Islam was initially more political than theological, but over time theological differences have developed. Still, differences in aqidah occur as divisions orthogonal to the main divisions in Islam along political or fiqh lines, such that a Muʿtazili might, for example, belong to Ja'fari, Zaidi or even Hanafi school of jurisprudence.

Aqidah is an Islamic term meaning "creed" or "belief". Any religious belief system, or creed, can be considered an example of aqidah. However this term has taken a significant technical usage in Muslim history and theology, denoting those matters over which Muslims hold conviction. The term is usually translated as "theology". Such traditions are divisions orthogonal to sectarian divisions of Islam, and a Mu'tazili may for example, belong to Jafari, Zaidi or even Hanafi school of jurisprudence. One of the earliest systematic theological school to develop, in the mid 8th-century, was Mu'tazila. It emphasized reason and rational thought, positing that the injunctions of God are accessible to rational thought and inquiry and that the Qur'an, albeit the word of God, was created rather than uncreated, which would develop into one of the most contentious questions in Islamic theology.
In the 10th century, the Ash'ari school developed as a response to Mu'tazila, leading to the latter's decline. Ash'ari still taught the use of reason in understanding the Qur'an, but denied the possibility to deduce moral truths by reasoning. This was opposed by the school of Maturidi, which taught that certain moral truths may be found by the use of reason without the aid of revelation.
Another point of contention was the relative position of iman ("faith") vs. taqwa ("piety"). Such schools of theology are summarized under Ilm al-Kalam, or "science of discourse", as opposed to mystical schools who deny that any theological truth may be discovered by means of discourse or reason.

Sunni schools of theology

Sunni Muslims are the largest denomination of Islam and are known as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h or simply as Ahl as-Sunnah. The word Sunni comes from the word sunnah, which means the teachings and actions or examples of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Therefore, the term "Sunni" refers to those who follow or maintain the sunnah of the prophet Muhammad.

The Sunnis believe that Muhammad did not appoint a successor to lead the Muslim ummah (community) before his death, and after an initial period of confusion, a group of his most prominent companions gathered and elected Abu Bakr, Muhammad's close friend and a father-in-law, as the first caliph of Islam. Sunni Muslims regard the first four caliphs (Abu Bakr, `Umar ibn al-Khattāb, Uthman Ibn Affan and Ali ibn Abu Talib) as "al-Khulafā’ur-Rāshidūn" or "The Rightly Guided Caliphs." After the Rashidun, the position turned into a hereditary right and the caliph's role was limited to being a political symbol of Muslim strength and unity.

Main article: Traditionalist Theology (Islam)
Atharism (Arabic: أثري‎; textualism) is a movement of Islamic scholars who reject rationalistic Islamic theology (kalam) in favor of strict textualism in interpreting the Quran.[1] The name is derived from the Arabic word athar, literally meaning "remnant" and also referring to a "narrative".[2] Their disciples are called the Athariyya, or Atharis.

For followers of the Athari movement, the "clear" meaning of the Qur'an, and especially the prophetic traditions, has sole authority in matters of belief, and to engage in rational disputation (kalam), even if one arrives at the truth, is absolutely forbidden.[3] Atharis engage in an amodal reading of the Qur'an, as opposed to one engaged in Ta'wil (metaphorical interpretation). They do not attempt to conceptualize the meanings of the Qur'an rationally, and believe that the "real" meaning should be consigned to God alone (tafwid).[4] In essence, the meaning has been accepted without asking "how" or "Bi-la kaifa".

On the other hand, the famous Hanbali scholar Ibn al-Jawzi states, in Kitab Akhbar as-Sifat, that Ahmad ibn Hanbal would have been opposed to anthropomorphic interpretations of Qur'anic texts such as those of al-Qadi Abu Ya'la, Ibn Hamid and Ibn az-Zaghuni.[5] Based on Abu'l-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi's criticism of Athari-Hanbalis,Muhammad Abu Zahra, a Professor of Islamic law at Cairo University deduced that Salafi aqidah is located somewhere between ta'tili and anthropopathy (Absolute Ẓāhirīsm in understanding the tashbih in Qur'an)[6][7] in Islam. Absolute Ẓāhirīsm and total rejection of ta'wil are amongst the fundamental characteristics of this "new"Islamic school of theology.

Main article: Ilm al-Kalam
ʿIlm al-Kalām (Arabic: علم الكلام‎, literally "science of discourse"[8]), usually foreshortened to kalam and sometimes called "Islamic scholastic theology", is a rational undertaking born out of the need to establish and defend the tenets of Islamic faith against doubters and detractors.[9] 'Ilm al-Kalam incorporates Aristotelian reasoningand logic into Islamic theology. A scholar of kalam is referred to as a mutakallim (plural mutakallimūn) as distinguished from philosophers, jurists, and scientists.[10] There are many possible interpretations as to why this discipline was originally called "kalam"; one is that the widest controversy in this discipline has been about whether the Word of God, as revealed in the Qur'an, can be considered part of God's essence and therefore not created, or whether it was made into words in the normal sense of speech, and is therefore created.

Main article: Al-Ash`ari
The Mu'tazila were challenged by Abu al-Hasan Al-Ash'ari, who famously defected from the Mu'tazila and formed the rival Ash'ari school of theology.[11] The Ash'ari school took the opposite position of the Mu'tazila and insisted that truth cannot be known through reason alone. The Ash'ari school further claimed that truth can only be known through revelation. The Ash'ari claim that without revelation, the unaided human mind would not be able to know if something is good or evil.

Today, the Ash'ari school is considered one of the Orthodox schools of theology. The Ash'ari school is the basis of the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence, which has supplied it with most of its most famous disciples.[12] The most famous of these are Abul-Hassan Al-Bahili, Abu Bakr Al-Baqillani, al-Juwayni, Al-Razi and Al-Ghazali. Thus Al-Ash`ari’s school became, together with the Maturidi, the main schools reflecting the beliefs of the Sunnah.[12]

Main article: Maturidi
The Maturidi school was founded by Abu Mansur Al Maturidi, and is the most popular theological school amongst Muslims, especially in the areas formerly controlled by the Ottomans and the Mughals. Today, the Maturidi school is the position favored by the ahl al-ra'y (people of reason), which includes only the Hanafi school of fiqh who make up the majority of sunni Muslims.

The Maturidi school takes the middle position between the Ash'ari and Mu'tazili schools on the questions of knowing truth and free will. The Maturidis say that the unaided human mind is able to find out that some of the more major sins such as alcohol or murder are evil without the help of revelation, but still maintain that revelation is the ultimate source of knowledge. Additionally, the Maturidi believe that God created and can control all of His creation, but that he allows humans to make individual decisions and choices for themselves.


Jahmiyyah
Main article: Jahmites
Jahmis were the followers of the Islamic theologian Jahm bin Safwan who associate himself with Al-Harith ibn Surayj. He was an exponent of extreme determinism according to which a man acts only metaphorically in the same way in which the sun acts or does something when it sets.[13] This is the position adopted by the Ash'ari school, which holds that God's omnipotence is absolute and perfect over all creation.


Qadariyyah
Main article: Qadariyyah
Qadariyyah
is an originally derogatory term designating early Islamic theologians who asserted human beings are ontologically free and have a perfect free will, whose exercise justifies divine punishment and absolving God of responsibility for evil in the world.[14][15] Their doctrines were adopted by the Mu'tazilis and rejected by the Ash'aris.[14] The tension between free will and God's omnipotence was later reconciled by the Maturidi school of theology, which asserted that God grants human beings their agency, but can remove or otherwise alter it at any time.

Further information: 'Amr ibn 'Ubayd, Al-Jubba'i, Abd al-Jabbâr al-Hamadhânî, Ibrahim an-Nazzam, and Al-Jahiz
Main articles: Muʿtazila and Wasil Ibn 'Ata'
The first group to pursue this undertaking were the Mu'tazila, who asserted that all truth could be known through reason alone. Mu'tazili theology originated in the 8th century in Basra when Wasil Ibn 'Ata' stormed out of a lesson of Hasan al-Basri following a theological dispute.

The Mu'tazila asserted that everything in revelation could be found through rational means alone. The Mu'tazila were heavily influenced by the Greek philosophy they encountered and began to adopt the ideas of Plotinus, whose Neoplatonic theology caused an enormous backlash against them. The political backlash the Mu'tazila faced, as well as the challenged brought forth by new schools of theology caused this group to atrophy and decline into irrelevancy. They are no longer considered an Orthodox school of theology by Sunni Muslims.

Main article: Bishriyya
Bishriyya followed the teachings of Bishr ibn al-Mu'tamir which were distinct from Wasil ibn Ata.

Main article: Bahshamiyya
Bâh’ Sham’iyyah[16] was a school of Mu'tazili thought, rivaling the school of Qadi Abd al-Jabbar, based primarily on the earlier teaching of Abu Hashim al-Jubba'i,[17] the son of Abu 'Ali Muhammad al-Jubba'i.

Further information: Abu'l Husayn al-Basri


Muhakkima
Main article: Muhakkima
The groups that were seceded from Ali's army in the end of the Arbitration Incident constituted the branch of Muhakkima (Arabic: محكمة‎). They mainly divided into two major sects called as Kharijites and Ibadis.

Main article: Khawarij
The Kharijites considered the caliphate of Abu Bakr and Umar to be rightly guided but believed that Uthman ibn Affan had deviated from the path of justice and truth in the last days of his caliphate, and hence was liable to be killed or displaced. They also believed that Ali ibn Abi Talib committed a grave sin when he agreed on the arbitration with Muʿāwiyah. In the Battle of Siffin, Ali acceded to Muawiyah's suggestion to stop the fighting and resort to negotiation. A large portion of Ali's troops (who later became the first Kharijites) refused to concede to that agreement, and they considered that Ali had breached a Qur'anic verse which states that The decision is only for Allah (Qur'an 6:57), which the Kharijites interpreted to mean that the outcome of a conflict can only be decided in battle (by God) and not in negotiations (by human beings).

The Kharijites thus deemed the arbitrators (Abu Musa al-Ashʿari and Amr Ibn Al-As), the leaders who appointed these arbitrators (Ali and Muʿāwiyah) and all those who agreed on the arbitration (all companions of Ali and Muʿāwiyah) as Kuffār (disbelievers), having breached the rules of the Qur'an. They believed that all participants in the Battle of Jamal, including Talha, Zubair(both being companions of Muhammad) and Aisha had committed a Kabira (major sin in Islam).[18]

Kharijites reject the doctrine of infallibility for the leader of the Muslim community, in contrast to Shi'a but in agreement with Sunnis.[19] Modern-day Islamic scholar Abul Ala Maududi wrote an analysis of Kharijite beliefs, marking a number of differences between Kharijism and Sunni Islam. The Kharijites believed that the act of sinning is analogous to Kufr (disbelief) and that every grave sinner was regarded as a Kāfir (disbeliever) unless he repents. With this argument, they denounced all the above-mentioned Ṣaḥābah and even cursed and used abusive language against them. Ordinary Muslims were also declared disbelievers because first, they were not free of sin; secondly they regarded the above-mentioned Ṣaḥābah as believers and considered them as religious leaders, even inferring Islamic jurisprudence from the Hadeeth narrated by them.[18] They also believed that it is not a must for the caliph to be from the Quraysh. Any pious Muslim nominated by other Muslims could be an eligible caliph.[18] Additionally, Kharijites believed that obedience to the caliph is binding as long as he is managing the affairs with justice and consultation, but if he deviates, then it becomes obligatory to confront him, demote him and even kill him.

Main article: Ibadi
Ibadiyya has some common beliefs overlapping with Ashari, Mu'tazila, Sunni and some Shi'ites.[20]


Murji'ah
Main article: Murji'ah
Murji'ah
(Arabic: المرجئة‎) is an early Islamic school whose followers are known in English as "Murjites" or "Murji'ites" (المرجئون). The Murji'ah emerged as a theological school in response to the Kharijites on the early question about the relationship between sin and apostasy (rida). The Murji'ah believed that sin did not affect a person's beliefs (iman) but rather their piety (taqwa). Therefore, they advocated the idea of "delayed judgement," (irjaa). The Murji'ah maintain that anyone who proclaims the bare minimum of faith must be considered a Muslim, and sin alone cannot cause someone to become a disbeliever (kafir). The Murjite opinion would eventually dominate that of the Kharijites and become the mainstream opinion in Sunni Islam. The later schools of Sunni theology adopted their stance while form more developed theological schools and concepts.

This post is long enough so I will leave the Shia schools of aquidah for tomorrow.
 
One last thing @Talus I of Dixie I hope this pages are useful to you https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Islamic_economics https://www.iis.ac.uk . Second link is for the institute of Ismaili studies, it's run by the largest group of Ismailis today, the Nizaris, who are the descendants of the assassins of the times of the crusades. Who in those times where a minority among the Ismailis because they rejected the Ismaili Fatimid Caliphate. The turns and twists of life.
Also sorry for the article on the settlement of northern Jazira. I didn't actually read the article and I misread the title so I thought it was about the settlement between the 7th century and the end first millennium. I just now noticed my mistake.
 
I was gonna post now about Shia schools of aqidah but I decided to leave that for later and instead post about the sunni madhhab (schools of jurisprudence, aka fiqh) in order to highlight the connection between schools of aqidah with the schools of fiqh. So first some definitions.

Fiqh
Fiqh (/fiːk/;[1] Arabic: فقه‎ [fɪqh]) is Islamic jurisprudence.[2] Fiqh is often described as the human understanding of the sharia,[3] that is human understanding of the divine Islamic law as revealed in the Quran and the Sunnah (the teachings and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and His companions). Fiqh expands and develops Shariah through interpretation (ijtihad) of the Quran and Sunnah by Islamic jurists (ulama)[3] and is implemented by the rulings (fatwa) of jurists on questions presented to them. Thus, whereas sharia is considered immutable and infallible by Muslims, fiqh is considered fallible and changeable. Fiqh deals with the observance of rituals, morals and social legislation in Islam as well as political system. In the modern era, there are four prominent schools (madh'hab) of fiqh within Sunni practice, plus two (or three) within Shi'a practice. A person trained in fiqh is known as a faqīh (plural fuqaha).[4]
Figuratively, fiqh means knowledge about Islamic legal rulings from their sources and deriving religious rulings from their sources necessitates the mujtahid (an individual who exercises ijtihad) to have a deep understanding in the different discussions of jurisprudence. A faqīh must look deep down into a matter and not suffice himself with just the apparent meaning, and a person who only knows the appearance of a matter is not qualified as a faqīh.[2]
The studies of fiqh, are traditionally divided into Uṣūl al-fiqh (principles of Islamic jurisprudence, lit. the roots of fiqh), the methods of legal interpretation and analysis; and Furūʿ al-fiqh (lit. the branches of fiqh), the elaboration of rulings on the basis of these principles.[5][6] Furūʿ al-fiqh is the product of the application of Uṣūl al-fiqhand the total product of human efforts at understanding the divine will. A hukm (plural aḥkām) is a particular ruling in a given case.
The word fiqh is an Arabic term meaning "deep understanding"[7]:470 or "full comprehension". Technically it refers to the body of Islamic law extracted from detailed Islamic sources (which are studied in the principles of Islamic jurisprudence) and the process of gaining knowledge of Islam through jurisprudence. The historian Ibn Khaldun describes fiqh as "knowledge of the rules of God which concern the actions of persons who own themselves connected to obey the law respecting what is required (wajib), sinful (haraam), recommended (mandūb), disapproved (makrūh) or neutral (mubah)".[8] This definition is consistent amongst the jurists.
The formative period of Islamic jurisprudence stretches back to the time of the early Muslim communities. In this period, jurists were more concerned with issues of authority and teaching than with theory and methodology.[11]
Progress in theory and methodology happened with the coming of the early Muslim jurist Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi`i (767–820), who codified the basic principles of Islamic jurisprudence in his book ar-Risālah. The book details the four roots of law (Qur'an, Sunnah, ijma, and qiyas) while specifying that the primary Islamic texts (the Qur'an and the hadith) be understood according to objective rules of interpretation derived from scientific study of the Arabic language.[12]
Secondary sources of law were developed and refined over the subsequent centuries, consisting primarily of juristic preference (istihsan), laws of the previous prophets (shara man qablana), continuity (istishab), extended analogy (maslaha mursala), blocking the means (sadd al-dhari'ah), custome urf and saying of a companion (qawl al-sahabi).[13]
Diagram of early schools
The Quran set the rights, the responsibilities and the rules for people and for societies to adhere to, like not dealing in interest. Muhammad then provided an example, which is recorded in the hadith books, showing people how he practically implemented these rules in a society. After the passing of Muhammad, there was a need for jurists, to decide on new legal matters where there is no such ruling in the Quran or the Hadith, example of Islamic prophet Muhammad regarding a similar case.[14][15]
In the years proceeding Muhammad, the community in Madina continued to use the same rules. People were familiar with the practice of Muhammad and therefore continued to use the same rules.
The scholars appearing in the diagram below were taught by Muhammad's companions, many of whom settled in Madina.[16] Muwatta[17] by Malik ibn Anas was written as a consensus of the opinion, of these scholars.[18][19][20] The Muwatta[17] by Malik ibn Anas quotes 13 hadiths from Imam Jafar al-Sadiq.[21]
Aisha also taught her nephew Urwah ibn Zubayr. He then taught his son Hisham ibn Urwah, who was the main teacher of Malik ibn Anas whose views many Sunni follow and also taught Jafar al-Sadiq. Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr, Hisham ibn Urwah and Muhammad al-Baqir taught Zayd ibn Ali, Jafar al-Sadiq, Abu Hanifa, and Malik ibn Anas.
Imam Jafar al-Sadiq, Imam Abu Hanifa and Malik ibn Anas worked together in Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina. Along with Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr, Muhammad al-Baqir, Zayd ibn Ali and over 70 other leading jurists and scholars.
Al-Shafi‘i was taught by Malik ibn Anas. Ahmad ibn Hanbal was taught by Al-Shafi‘i. Muhammad al-Bukhari travelled everywhere collecting hadith and his father Ismail ibn Ibrahim was a student of Malik ibn Anas.[22][23][24][25][26]


In the books actually written by these original jurists and scholars, there are very few theological and judicial differences between them. Imam Ahmad rejected the writing down and codifying of the religious rulings he gave. They knew that they might have fallen into error in some of their judgements and stated this clearly. They never introduced their rulings by saying, "Here, this judgement is the judgement of God and His prophet."[27] There is also very little text actually written down by Jafar al-Sadiq himself. They all give priority to the Qur'an and the Hadith (the practice of Muhammad). They felt that the Quran and the Hadith, the example of Muhammad provided people with almost everything they needed. "This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion" Quran 5:3.[28]

These scholars did not distinguish between each other. They were not Sunni or Shia. They felt that they were following the religion of Abraham as described in the Quran "Say: Allah speaks the truth; so follow the religion of Abraham, the upright one. And he was not one of the polytheists" (Qur'an 3:95).

Most of the differences are regarding Sharia laws devised through Ijtihad where there is no such ruling in the Quran or the Hadiths of Islamic prophet Muhammad regarding a similar case.[27] As these jurists went to new areas, they were pragmatic and continued to use the same ruling as was given in that area during pre-Islamic times, if the population felt comfortable with it, it was just and they used Ijtihad to deduce that it did not conflict with the Quran or the Hadith. As explained in the Muwatta[17] by Malik ibn Anas.[18] This made it easier for the different communities to integrate into the Islamic State and assisted in the quick expansion of the Islamic State.

To reduce the divergence, ash-Shafi'i proposed giving priority to the Qur'an and the Hadith (the practice of Muhammad) and only then look at the consensus of the Muslim jurists (ijma) and analogical reasoning (qiyas).[18] This then resulted in jurists like Muhammad al-Bukhari[29] dedicating their lives to the collection of the correct Hadith, in books like Sahih al-Bukhari. Sahih translates as authentic or correct. They also felt that Muhammad's judgement was more impartial and better than their own.

These original jurists and scholars also acted as a counterbalance to the rulers. When they saw injustice, all these scholars spoke out against it. As the state expanded outside Madina, the rights of the different communities, as they were constituted in the Constitution of Medina still applied. The Quran also gave additional rights to the citizens of the state and these rights were also applied. Ali, Hassan and Hussein ibn Ali gave their allegiance to the first three caliphs because they abided by these conditions. Later Ali the fourth caliph wrote in a letter "I did not approach the people to get their oath of allegiance but they came to me with their desire to make me their Amir (ruler). I did not extend my hands towards them so that they might swear the oath of allegiance to me but they themselves extended their hands towards me".[30] But later as fate would have it (Predestination in Islam) when Yazid I, an oppressive ruler took power, Hussein ibn Ali the grandson of Muhammad felt that it was a test from God for him and his duty to confront him. Then Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr's cousin confronted the Umayyad rulers after Hussein ibn Ali was betrayed by the people of Kufa and killed by Syrian Roman Army now under the control of the Yazid I the Umayyad ruler.[31] Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr then took on the Umayyads and expelled their forces from Hijaz and Iraq. But then his forces were depleted in Iraq, trying to stop the Khawarij. The Ummayads then moved in. After a lengthy campaign, in his last hour Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr asked his mother Asma' bint Abu Bakr the daughter of Abu Bakr the first caliph for advice. Asma' bint Abu Bakr replied to her son, she said:[32] "You know better in your own self, that if you are upon the truth and you are calling towards the truth go forth, for people more honourable than you have been killed and if you are not upon the truth, then what an evil son you are and you have destroyed yourself and those who are with you. If you say, that if you are upon the truth and you will be killed at the hands of others, then you will not truly be free". Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr left and was later also killed and crucified by the Syrian Roman Army now under the control of the Umayyads and led by Hajjaj. Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr the son of Abu Bakr the first caliph and raised by Ali the fourth caliph was also killed by the Ummayads.[33] Aisha then raised and taught his son Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr who later taught his grandson Jafar al-Sadiq.
During the early Ummayad period, there was more community involvement. The Quran and Muhammad's example was the main source of law after which the community decided. If it worked for the community, was just and did not conflict with the Quran and the example of Muhammad, it was accepted. This made it easier for the different communities, with Roman, Persian, Central Asia and North African backgrounds to integrate into the Islamic State and that assisted in the quick expansion of the Islamic State. The scholars in Madina were consulted on the more complex judicial issues. The Sharia and the official more centralized schools of fiqh developed later, during the time of the Abbasids.[34]

Madhhab
A madhhab (Arabic: مذهب‎ maḏhab, IPA: [ˈmaðhab], "way to act"; pl. مذاهب maḏāhib, [maˈðaːhɪb]) is a school of thought within fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence).
The major Sunni madhhabs are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali.[1] They emerged in the ninth and tenth centuries CE and by the twelfth century almost all jurists aligned themselves with a particular madhhab.[2] These four schools recognize each other's validity and they have interacted in legal debate over the centuries.[2][1]Rulings of these schools are followed across the Muslim world without exclusive regional restrictions, but they each came to dominate in different parts of the world.[2][1] For example, the Maliki school is predominant in North and West Africa; the Hanafi school in South and Central Asia; the Shafi'i school in East Africa and Southeast Asia; and the Hanbali school in North and Central Arabia.[2][1][3] The first centuries of Islam also witnessed a number of short-lived Sunni madhhabs.[4] The Zahiri school, which is commonly identified as extinct, continues to exert influence over legal thought.[4][1][2] The development of Shia legal schools occurred along the lines of theological differences and resulted in formation of the Twelver, Zaidi and Ismaili madhhabs, whose differences from Sunni legal schools are roughly of the same order as the differences among Sunni schools.[4][3] The Ibadi legal school, distinct from Sunni and Shia madhhabs, is predominant in Oman.[1]
"Ancient" schools
According to John Burton, “modern research shows” that fiqh was first “regionally organized” with “considerable disagreement and variety of view”. In the second century of Islam, schools of fiqh were noted for the loyalty of their jurists to the legal practices of their local communities, whether Mecca, Kufa, Basra, Syria, etc.[7] (Egypt's school in Fustat was a branch of Medina's school of law and followed such practices -- up until the end of the 8th century -- as basing verdict on one single witness (not two) and the oath of the claimant. Its principal jurist in the second half of the 8th century was al-Layth b. Sa'd.)[Note 1] Al-Shafi‘i writes that, `every capital of the Muslims is a seat of learning whose people follow the opinion of one of their countrymen in most of his teachings`.[11][12] The "real basis" of legal doctrine in these "ancient schools" was not a body of reports of Muhammad's sayings, doings, silent approval (the ahadith) or even those of his Companions, but the `living tradition` of the school as "expressed in the consensus of the scholars", according to Joseph Schacht.[13]
Al-Shafi'i and after
It has been asserted that madhahib were consolidated in the 9th and 10th centuries as a means of excluding dogmatic theologians, government officials and non-Sunni sects from religious discourse.[14] Historians have differed regarding the times at which the various schools emerged. One interpretation is that Sunni Islam was initially[when?] split into four groups: the Hanafites, Malikites, Shafi'ites and Zahirites.[15] Later, the Hanbalites and Jarirites developed two more schools; then various dynasties effected the eventual exclusion of the Jarirites;[16] eventually, the Zahirites were also excluded when the Mamluk Sultanate established a total of four independent judicial positions, thus solidifying the Maliki, Hanafi, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools.[14] During the era of the Islamic Gunpowders, the Ottoman Empire reaffirmed the official status of these four schools as a reaction to Shi'ite Persia.[17] Some are of the view that Sunni jurisprudence falls into two groups: Ahl al-Ra'i ("people of opinions", emphasizing scholarly judgment and reason) and Ahl al-Hadith ("people of traditions", emphasizing strict interpretation of scripture).[18]
10th century Shi'ite scholar Ibn al-Nadim named eight groups: Maliki, Hanafi, Shafi'i, Zahiri, Imami Shi'ite, Ahl al-Hadith, Jariri and Kharijite.[16][19] In the 12th century Jariri and Zahiri schools were absorbed by the Shafi'i school.[20] Ibn Khaldun defined only three Sunni madhahib: Hanafi, Zahiri, and one encompassing the Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali schools as existing initially,[21][22] noting that by the 14th-century historian the Zahiri school had become extinct,[23][24] only for it to be revived again in parts of the Muslim world by the mid-20th century.[25][26][27]
Historically, the fiqh schools were often in political and academic conflict with one another, vying for favor with the ruling government in order to have their representatives appointed to legislative and especially judiciary positions.[17] Geographer and historian Al-Muqaddasi once satirically categorized competing madhahib with contrasting personal qualities: Hanafites, highly conscious of being hired for official positions, appeared deft, well-informed, devout and prudent; Malikites, dull and obtuse, confined themselves to observance of prophetic tradition; Shafi'ites were shrewd, impatient, understanding and quick-tempered; Zahirites haughty, irritable, loquacious and well-to-do; Shi'ites, entrenched and intractable in old rancor, enjoyed riches and fame; and Hanbalites, anxious to practice what they preached, were charitable and inspiring.[28] While such descriptions were almost assuredly humorous in nature, ancient differences were less to do with actual doctrinal opinions than with maneuvering for adherents and influence.[citation needed]
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List of sunni schools

Hanafi

The Hanafi (Arabic: حنفي‎ Ḥanafī) school is one of the four religious Sunni Islamic schools of jurisprudence (fiqh).[1] It is named after the scholar Abū Ḥanīfa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit (d. 767), a tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani. The other major schools of Sharia in Sunni Islam are Maliki, Shafi`i and Hanbali.[2][3]
The sources from which the Hanafi madhhab derives Islamic law are, in order of importance and preference: the Quran, and the hadiths containing the words, actions and customs of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (narrated in six hadith collections, of which Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim are the most relied upon); if these sources were ambiguous on an issue, then the consensus of the Sahabah community (Ijma of the companions of Muhammad), then individual's opinion from the Sahabah, Qiyas (analogy), Istihsan (juristic preference), and finally local Urf (local custom of people).[7]
Abu Hanifa is regarded by modern scholarship as the first to formally adopt and institute analogy (Qiyas) as a method to derive Islamic law when the Quran and hadiths are silent or ambiguous in their guidance.[8]
The foundational texts of Hanafi madhhab, credited to Abū Ḥanīfa and his students Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani, include Al-fiqh al-akbar (theological book on jurisprudence), Al-fiqh al-absat (general book on jurisprudence), Kitab al-athar (thousands of hadiths with commentary), Kitab al-kharajand Kitab al-siyar (doctrine of war against unbelievers, distribution of spoils of war among Muslims, apostasy and taxation of dhimmi).[9][10][11]
As the fourth Caliph, Ali had transferred the Islamic capital to Kufa, and many of the first generation of Muslims had settled there, the Hanafi school of law based many of its rulings on the earliest Islamic traditions as transmitted by Sahaba residing in Iraq. Thus, the Hanafi school came to be known as the Kufan or Iraqi school in earlier times. Ali and Abdullah, son of Masud formed much of the base of the school, as well as other personalities such as Muhammad al-Baqir, Ja'far al-Sadiq, and Zayd ibn Ali.
In the early history of Islam, Hanafi doctrine was not fully compiled. The fiqh was fully compiled and documented in the 11th century.[12]
The Turkish rulers were some of the earliest adopters of the relatively more flexible Hanafi fiqh, and preferred it over the traditionalist Medina-based fiqhs which favored correlating all laws to Quran and Hadiths and disfavored Islamic law based on discretion of jurists.[13] The Abbasids patronized the Hanafi school from the 10th century onwards. The Seljuk Turkish dynasties of 11th and 12th centuries, followed by Ottomans adopted Hanafi fiqh. The Turkic expansion spread Hanafi fiqh through Central Asia and into Indian subcontinent, with the establishment of Seljuk Empire, Timurid dynasty, Khanates, Delhi Sultanate, Bengal Sultanate and Mughal Empire. Throughout the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb the Hanafi based Fatawa-e-Alamgiri served as the legal, juridical, political, and financial code of most of South Asia.[12][13]
They are linked with the Mutaridi school of aqidah.
Maliki
The Mālikī (Arabic: مالكي‎) school is one of the four major madhhabs of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam.[2] It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary sources. Unlike other Islamic fiqhs, Maliki fiqh also considers the consensus of the people of Medina to be a valid source of Islamic law.[3]
The Maliki madhhab is one of the largest groups of Sunni Muslims, comparable to the Shafi`i madhhab in adherents, but smaller than the Hanafi madhhab.[1][4] Sharia based on Maliki doctrine is predominantly found in North Africa (excluding northern and eastern Egypt), West Africa, Chad, Sudan, Kuwait, Bahrain,[5] the Emirate of Dubai (UAE), and in northeastern parts of Saudi Arabia.[1]
In the medieval era, the Maliki school was also found in parts of Europe under Islamic rule, particularly Islamic Spain and the Emirate of Sicily.[6] A major historical center of Maliki teaching, from the 9th to 11th centuries, was in the Mosque of Uqba of Tunisia.[7][8]
Although Malik ibn Anas was himself a native of Medina, his school faced fierce competition for followers in the Muslim east, with the Shafi'i, Hanbali, and Zahiri schools all enjoying more success than Malik's school.[9] It was eventually the Hanafi school, however, that earned official government favor from the Abbasids.
The Malikis enjoyed considerably more success in Africa, and for a while in Spain and Sicily. Under the Umayyads and their remnants, the Maliki school was promoted as the official state code of law, and Maliki judges had free rein over religious practices; in return, the Malikis were expected to support and legitimize the government's right to power.[10] This dominance in Spanish Andalus from the Umayyads up to the Almoravids continued, with Islamic law in the region dominated by the opinions of Malik and his students. The Sunnah and Hadith, or prophetic tradition in Islam, played lesser roles as Maliki jurists viewed both with suspicion, and few were well versed in either.[11] The Almoravids eventually gave way to the predominantly-Zahiri Almohads, at which point Malikis were tolerated at times but lost official favor. With the Reconquista, the Iberian Peninsula was lost to the Muslims in totality.[citation needed]
Although Al-Andalus was eventually lost, the Maliki has been able to retain its dominance throughout North and West Africa to this day. Additionally, the school has traditionally been the preferred school in the small Arab States of the Persian Gulf (Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar).[12] While the majority of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia follows Hanbali laws, the country's Eastern Province has been known as a Maliki stronghold for centuries.[1]
Maliki school's sources for Sharia are hierarchically prioritized as follows: Quran and then trustworthy Hadiths (sayings, customs and actions of Muhammad); if these sources were ambiguous on an issue, then `Amal (customs and practices of the people of Medina), followed by consensus of the Sahabah(the companions of Muhammad), then individual's opinion from the Sahabah, Qiyas (analogy), Istislah (interest and welfare of Islam and Muslims), and finally Urf (custom of people throughout the Muslim world if it did not contradict the hierarchically higher sources of Sharia).[2]
The Mālikī school primarily derives from the work of Malik ibn Anas, particularly the Muwatta Imam Malik, also known as Al-Muwatta. The Muwaṭṭa relies on Sahih Hadiths, includes Malik ibn Anas' commentary, but it is so complete that it is considered in Maliki school to be a sound hadith in itself.[3] Mālik included the practices of the people of Medina and where the practices are in compliance with or in variance with the hadiths reported. This is because Mālik regarded the practices of Medina (the first three generations) to be a superior proof of the "living" sunnah than isolated, although sound, hadiths. Mālik was particularly scrupulous about authenticating his sources when he did appeal to them, however, and his comparatively small collection of aḥādith, known as al-Muwaṭṭah (or, The Straight Path).[3]
The second source, the Al-Mudawwana, is the collaborator work of Mālik's longtime student, Ibn Qāsim and his mujtahid student, Sahnun. The Mudawwanah consists of the notes of Ibn Qāsim from his sessions of learning with Mālik and answers to legal questions raised by Saḥnūn in which Ibn Qāsim quotes from Mālik, and where no notes existed, his own legal reasoning based upon the principles he learned from Mālik. These two books, i.e. the Muwaṭṭah and Mudawwanah, along with other primary books taken from other prominent students of Mālik, would find their way into the Mukhtaṣar Khalīl, which would form the basis for the later Mālikī madhhab.
Maliki school is most closely related to the Hanafi school, and the difference between them is more of a degree, rather than nature.[14] However, unlike the Hanafi school, the Maliki school does not assign as much weight to analogy, but derives its rulings from pragmatism using the principles of istislah (public interest) wherever the Quran and Sahih Hadiths do not provide explicit guidance.[14]
The Maliki school differs from the other Sunni schools of law most notably in the sources it uses for derivation of rulings. Like all Sunni schools of Sharia, the Maliki school uses the Qur'an as primary source, followed by the sayings, customs/traditions and practices of Muhammad, transmitted as hadiths. In the Mālikī school, said tradition includes not only what was recorded in hadiths, but also the legal rulings of the four rightly guided caliphs – especially Umar.
Malik bin Anas himself also accepted binding consensus and analogical reasoning along with the majority of Sunni jurists, though with conditions. Consensus was only accepted as a valid source of law if it was drawn from the first generation of Muslims in general, or the first, second or third generations from Medina, while analogy was only accepted as valid as a last resort when an answer was not found in other sources.[15][16]
I think they more linked with the Ash'ari school of aqidah but also they take inspiration from mutaridi scholars. It seems that there is no clear cut equivalence between sunni madhhab and sunni aqidah schools but still scholars of particular orientations are more used by some schools then others.
Shafi'i
The Shafi‘i (Arabic: شافعي‎ Shāfiʿī, alternative spelling Shafei) madhhab is one of the four schools of Islamic law in Sunni Islam.[1][2] It was founded by the Arab scholar Al-Shafi‘i, a pupil of Malik, in the early 9th century.[3][4] The other three schools of Sunni jurisprudence are Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali.[1][2]
The Shafi school predominantly relies on the Quran and the Hadiths for Sharia.[3][5] Where passages of Quran and Hadiths are ambiguous, the school first seeks religious law guidance from Ijma – the consensus of Scholars (Community of Islamic scholars).[6] If there was no consensus, the Shafi‘i school relies on individual opinion (Ijtihad) of the companions of Muhammad, followed by analogy.[3]
The Shafi‘i school was, in the early history of Islam, the most followed ideology for Sharia.[citation needed] However, with the Ottoman Empire's expansion and patronage, it was replaced with the Hanafi school in many parts of the Muslim world.[5] One of the many differences between the Shafi‘i and Hanafi schools is that the Shafi‘i school does not consider Istihsan (judicial discretion by suitably qualified legal scholars) as an acceptable source of religious law because it amounts to "human legislation" of Islamic law.[7][not specific enough to verify]
The Shafi‘i school is now predominantly found in Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, eastern Egypt, the Swahili coast, Hijaz, Yemen, Kurdish regions of the Middle East, Dagestan, Chechen and Ingush regions of the Caucasus, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Kerala and some other coastal regions in India, Singapore, Myanmar, Thailand, Brunei, and the Philippines.[8]
The Shafi‘i school of thought regards five sources of jurisprudence as having binding authority. In hierarchical order, these are: the Quran, the hadiths—that is, sayings, customs and practices of Muhammad—the ijmā' (consensus of Sahabah, the community of Muhammad's companions),[9] the individual opinions of Sahaba with preference to one closest to the issue as ijtihad, and finally qiyas (analogy).[3] Although al-Shafi‘i's legal methodology rejected custom or local practice as a constitutive source of law, this did not mean that he or his followers denied any elasticity in the Shariah.[10] The Shafi‘i school also rejects two sources of Sharia that are accepted in other major schools of Islam—Istihsan (juristic preference, promoting the interest of Islam) and Istislah (public interest).[11][12] The jurisprudence principle of Istihsan and Istislah admitted religious laws that had no textual basis in either the Quran or Hadiths, but were based on the opinions of Islamic scholars as promoting the interest of Islam and its universalization goals.[13] The Shafi‘i school rejected these two principles, stating that these methods rely on subjective human opinions, and have potential for corruption and adjustment to political context and time.[11][12]
The foundational text for the Shafi‘i school is Al-Risala ("The Message") by the founder of the school, Al-Shafi‘i. It outlines the principles of Shafi‘i fiqh as well as the derived jurisprudence.[14] Al-Risala became an influential book to other Sunni Islam fiqhs as well, as the oldest surviving Arabic work on Islamic legal theory.[15][page needed]
The Shafi‘i madhhab was spread by Al-Shafi‘i students in Cairo, Mecca and Baghdad. It became widely accepted in early history of Islam. The chief representative of the Iraqi school was Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi, whilst in Khorasan, the Shafi‘i school was spread by al-Juwayni and al-Iraqi. These two branches merged around Ibn al-Salah and his father.[citation needed]
The Shafi‘i jurisprudence was adopted as the official law during the Great Seljuq Empire, Zengid dynasty, Ayyubid dynasty and later the Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo), where it saw its widest application. It was also adopted by the Kathiri state in Hadhramawt and most of rule of the Sharif of Mecca.[citation needed]
With the establishment and expansion of Ottoman Empire in West Asia and Turkic Sultanates in Central and South Asia, Shafi‘i school was replaced with Hanafi school, in part because Hanafites allowed Istihsan (juristic preference) that allowed the rulers flexibility in interpreting the religious law to their administrative preferences.[7] The Sultanates along the littoral regions of the Horn of Africa and the Arabian peninsula adhered to the Shafi‘i school and were the primary drivers of its maritime military expansion into many Asian and East African coastal regions of the Indian Ocean, particularly from the 12th through the 18th century.[16][not specific enough to verify][17][not specific enough to verify]
I can't find anything linking Shafi'i madhhabwith any particular aqidah except the fact that Al-ash'ari (the founder of the school of aqidah) apparently was a shafi'i.
Hanbali
The Hanbali school (Arabic: المذهب الحنبلي‎, romanized: al-maḏhab al-ḥanbalī) is one of the four traditional Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence.[1] It is named after the Iraqi scholar Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 855), and was institutionalized by his students. The Hanbali madhhab is the smallest of four major Sunni schools, the others being the Hanafi, Maliki and Shafi`i.[2][3]
The Hanbali school derives sharia predominantly from the Quran, the Hadiths (sayings and customs of Muhammad), and the views of Sahabah (Muhammad's companions).[1] In cases where there is no clear answer in sacred texts of Islam, the Hanbali school does not accept jurist discretion or customs of a community as a sound basis to derive Islamic law, a method that Hanafi and Maliki Sunni fiqhs accept. Hanbali school is the strict traditionalist school of jurisprudence in Sunni Islam.[4] It is found primarily in the countries of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, where it is the official fiqh.[5][6] Hanbali followers are the demographic majority in four emirates of UAE (Sharjah, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Ajman).[7] Large minorities of Hanbali followers are also found in Bahrain, Syria, Oman and Yemen and among Iraqi and Jordanian bedouins.[5][8]
The Hanbali school experienced a reformation in the Wahhabi-Salafist movement.[9] Historically the school was small; during the 18th to early-20th century Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and Al Saud greatly aided its propagation around the world by way of their interpretation of the school's teachings.[9] As a result of this, the school's name has become a controversial one in certain quarters of the Islamic world due to the influence he is believed by some to have had upon these teachings, which cites Ibn Hanbal as a principal influence along with the thirteenth-century Hanbali reformer Ibn Taymiyyah. However, it has been argued by certain scholars that Ibn Hanbal's own beliefs actually played "no real part in the establishment of the central doctrines of Wahhabism,"[10] as there is evidence, according to the same authors, that "the older Hanbalite authorities had doctrinal concerns very different from those of the Wahhabis,"[10] as medieval Hanbali literature is rich in references to saints, grave visitation, miracles, and relics.[11] Historically, the Hanbali school was treated as simply another valid interpretation of Islamic law, and many prominent medieval Sufis, such as Abdul Qadir Gilani, were Hanbali jurists and mystics at the same time.[11]
(((I think this last part is important to remember that the hanbali school is not the same as the salafists movements even if they are connected by history and geography)))

Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the founder of Hanbali school, was a disciple of Al-Shafi‘i. Like Shafi'i and al-Zahiri, he was deeply concerned with the extreme elasticity being deployed by many jurists of his time, who used their discretion to reinterpret the doctrines of Quran and Hadiths to suit the demands of Caliphs and wealthy.[12] Ibn Hanbal advocated return to literal interpretation of Quran and Hadiths. Influenced by the debates of his time, he was known for rejecting religious rulings (Ijtihad) from the consensus of jurists of his time, which he considered to be speculative theology (Kalam). He associated them with the Mu'tazilis, whom he despised. Ibn Hanbal was also hostile to the discretionary principles of rulings in jurisprudence (Usul al-fiqh) mainly championed by the people of opinion, which was established by Abu Hanifa, although he did adopt al-Shafi'i's method in usul al-fiqh. He linked these discretionary principles with kalam. His guiding principle was that the Quran and Sunnah are the only proper sources of Islamic jurisprudence, and are of equal authority and should be interpreted literally in line with the Athari creed. He also believed that there can be no true consensus (Ijma) among jurists (mujtahids) of his time,[12]and preferred the consensus of Muhammad's companions (Sahaba) and weaker hadiths. Imam Hanbal himself compiled Al-Musnad, a text with over 30,000 saying, actions and customs of Muhammad.[1]
Ibn Hanbal never composed an actual systematic legal theory on his own, though his followers established a systemic method after his death.[13][self-published source] Much of the work of preserving the school based on Ibn Hanbal's method was laid by his student Abu Bakr al-Khallal; his documentation on the founder's views eventually reached twenty volumes.[14] The original copy of the work, which was contained in the House of Wisdom, was burned along with many other works of literature during the Mongol siege of Baghdad. The book was only preserved in a summarized form by the Hanbali jurist al-Khiraqi, who had access to written copies of al-Khallal's book before the siege.[14]
Relations with the Abbasid Caliphate were rocky for the Hanbalites. Led by the Hanbalite scholar Al-Hasan ibn 'Ali al-Barbahari, the school often formed mobs of followers in 10th-century Baghdad who would engage in violence against fellow Sunnis suspected of committing sins and all Shi'ites.[15] During al-Barbahari's leadership of the school in Baghdad, shops were looted,[16] female entertainers were attacked in the streets,[16] popular grievances among the lower classes were agitated as a source of mobilization,[17] and public chaos in general ensued.[18] Their efforts would be their own undoing in 935, when a series of home invasions and mob violence on the part of al-Barbahari's followers in addition to perceived deviant views led to the Caliph Ar-Radi publicly condemning the school in its entirety and ending its official patronage by state religious bodies.[18]
Like all other schools of Sunni Islam, the Hanbali school holds that the two primary sources of Islamic law are the Qur'an and the Sunnah found in Hadiths (compilation of sayings, actions and customs of Muhammad). Where these texts did not provide guidance, Imam Hanbal recommended guidance from established consensus of Muhammad's companions (Sahabah), then individual opinion of Muhammad's companions, followed in order of preference by weaker hadiths, and in rare cases qiyas (analogy).[1] The Hanbali school, unlike Hanafi and Maliki schools, rejected that a source of Islamic law can be a jurist's personal discretionary opinion or consensus of later generation Muslims on matters that serve the interest of Islam and community. Hanbalis hold that this is impossible and leads to abuse.[12]
Ibn Hanbal rejected the possibility of religiously binding consensus (Ijma), as it was impossible to verify once later generations of Muslims spread throughout the world,[12] going as far as declaring anyone who claimed as such to be a liar. Ibn Hanbal did, however, accept the possibility and validity of the consensus of the Sahaba. the first generation of Muslims.[19][20] Later followers of the school, however, expanded on the types of consensus accepted as valid, and the prominent Hanbalite Ibn Taymiyyah expanded legal consensus to later generations while at the same time restricting it only to the religiously learned.[20] Analogical reasoning (Qiyas), was likewise rejected as a valid source of law by Ibn Hanbal himself,[12][21][22] with a near-unanimous majority of later Hanbalite jurists not only accepting analogical reasoning as valid but also borrowing from the works of Shafi'ite jurists on the subject.
Ibn Hanbal's strict standards of acceptance regarding the sources of Islamic law were probably due to his suspicion regarding the field of Usul al-Fiqh, which he equated with speculative theology (kalam).[23] In the modern era, Hanbalites have branched out and even delved into matters regarding the upholding (Istislah) of public interest (Maslaha) and even juristic preference (Istihsan), anathema to the earlier Hanbalites as valid methods of determining religious law.
Ibn Hanbal taught that the Qur'an is uncreated due to Muslim belief that it is the word of God, and the word of God is not created. The Mu'tazilites taught that the Qur'an, which is readable and touchable, is created like other creatures and created objects. Ibn Hanbal viewed this as heresy, replying that there are things which are not touchable but are created, such as the Throne of God.[24] Unlike the other three schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, and Shafi), the Hanbali madhab remained largely traditionalist or Athari in theology[25] and it was primarily Hanbali scholars who codified the Athari school of thought.
Ok, this one is easier, Hanbali and Athari schools are really interconnected but also it seems some early shafi'i scholars were part of the Atari movement.
Zahiri
The Ẓāhirī (Arabic: ظاهري‎) madhhab or al-Ẓāhirīyyah (Arabic: الظاهرية‎) is a school of Islamic jurisprudence founded by Dawud al-Zahiri in the ninth century,[1][2][3][4] characterised by reliance on the outward (ẓāhir) meaning of expressions in the Qur'an and hadith, as well as rejection of analogical deduction (qiyās). After a limited success and decline in the Middle East, the Ẓāhirī school flourished in the Caliphate of Córdoba (Al-Andalus, today's Spain and Portugal), particularly under the leadership of ibn Hazm.
Whereas some analysts describe Zahirism as a distinct school of Islam[5], others have characterized it as a fifth school of thought (madhhab) of Sunni Islam,[6][7][8] and still retains a measure of influence and is recognized by contemporary Islamic scholars. In particular, members of the Ahl-i Hadith movement have identified themselves with the Ẓāhirī school of thought.[9]
While those outside the school of thought often point to Dawud al-Zahiri (815–883/4 CE) as the "founder" of the school, followers of the school themselves tend to look to earlier figures such as Sufyan al-Thawri and Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh as the forerunners of Ẓāhirī principles.[citation needed] Umm al-Qura University professor Abdul Aziz al-Harbi has argued that the first generation of Muslims followed the school's methods and therefore it can be called "the school of the first generation."[10]
The Ẓāhirī school was initially called the Dawudi school after Dawud al-Ẓāhirī himself and attracted many adherents, although they felt free to criticize his views, in line with the school's rejection of taqlid.[11] By the end of the 10th century, members of the madhhab were appointed as qadis in Baghdad, Shiraz, Isfahan, Firuzabad, Ramla, Damascus, Fustat, and Bukhara.[11][12]
Parallel to the school's development in the east, Ẓāhirī ideas were introduced to North Africa by theologians of the Maliki school who were engaged in lively debates with the Hanafi school, and to the Iberian Peninsula by one of Dawud al-Ẓāhirī's direct students.[11] Unlike Abbasid lands, where the Ẓāhirī school developed in parallel and in opposition to other madhhabs (chiefly Hanafi, Shafi‘i, and Hanbali), in the West it only had to contend with its Maliki counterpart, which enjoyed official support of the Umayyad rulers.[11] An increasing number of Ẓāhirī scholars appeared starting from the late 9th century CE in different parts of the Iberian peninsula, though none of their works have survived.[11]
It was not until the rise of the Almohads that the Ẓāhirī school enjoyed official state sponsorship. While not all of the Almohad political leaders were Ẓāhirīs, a large plurality of them were not only adherents but were well-versed theologians in their own right.[13][not specific enough to verify] Additionally, all Almohad leaders – both the religiously learned and the laymen – were extremely hostile toward the Malikis, giving the Ẓāhirīs and in a few cases the Shafi‘is free rein to author works and run the judiciary. In the late 12th century, any religious material written by non-Ẓāhirīs was at first banned and later burned in the empire under the Almohad reforms.[14][15]
The Ẓāhirī school enjoyed its widest expansion and prestige in the fourth Islamic century, especially through the works of Ibn al-Mughallis, but in the fifth century it lost ground to the Hanbalite school.[16] Even after the Zahiri school became extinct in Baghdad, it continued to have some followers in Shiraz.[17] Ẓāhirism maintained its prestige in Syria until 788 A.H. and had an even longer and deeper impact in Egypt.[16] In the 14th century C.E., the Zahiri Revolt marked both a brief rekindling of interest in the school's ideas as well as affirmation of its status as a non-mainstream ideology.[citation needed] Al-Muhalla, a Medieval manual on Ẓāhirī jurisprudence, served in part as inspiration for the revolt and as a primary source of the school's positions.[18][failed verification] However, soon afterwards the school ceased to function and in the 14th century Ibn Khaldun considered it to be extinct.[19][20] With the Reconquista and the loss of Iberia to Christian rule, most works of Ẓāhirī law and legal theory were lost as well, with the school only being carried on by individual scholars, once again on the periphery.[citation needed]
Wael Hallaq has argued that the rejection of qiyas (analogical reasoning) in Ẓāhirī methodology led to exclusion of the school from the Sunni juridical consensus and ultimately its extinction in the pre-modern era.[21] Christopher Melchert suggests that the association of the Ẓāhirī school with Mu'tazilite theology, its difficulty in attracting the right patronage, and its reliance on outmoded methods of teaching have all contributed to its decline.[22]
Of the utmost importance to the school is an underlying principle attributed to the founder Dawud that the validity of religious issues is only upheld by certainty, and that speculation cannot lead to the truth.[30] Most Ẓāhirī principles return to this overarching maxim. Japanese Islamic scholar Kojiro Nakamura defines the Ẓāhirī schools as resting on two presumptions. The first is that if it were possible to draw more general conclusions from the strict reading of the sources of Islamic law, then God certainly would have expressed these conclusions already; thus, all that is necessary lies in the text. The second is that for man to seek the motive behind the commandments of God is not only a fruitless endeavor but a presumptuous one.[31]
The Ẓāhirī school of thought generally recognizes three sources of Islamic law within the principles of Islamic jurisprudence. The first is the Qur'an, considered by Muslims to be the verbatim word of God (Arabic: الله Allah); the second consists of the prophetic as given in historically verifiable reports, which consist of the sayings and actions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad; the third is absolute consensus of the Muslim community.
Certain followers of the Ẓāhirī school include religious inference as a fourth source of Islamic law.[32][verification needed]
The school differs from the more prolific schools of Islamic thought in that it restricts valid consensus in jurisprudence to the consensus of the first generation of Muslims who lived alongside Muhammad only.[33][34] While Abu Hanifa and Ahmad ibn Hanbal agreed with them in this,[35][36] most followers of the Hanafi and Hanbali schools generally do not, nor do the other two Sunni schools.
Additionally, the Ẓāhirī school does not accept analogical reasoning as a source of Islamic law,[37] nor do they accept the practice of juristic discretion, pointing to a verse in the Qur'an which declares that nothing has been neglected in the Muslim scriptures.[38] While al-Shafi‘i and followers of his school agree with the Ẓāhirīs in rejecting the latter,[39] all other Sunni schools accept the former, though at varying levels.[citation needed]
Well this one also appears to be kinda linked with Athari textualism.

Ok this is super long so I will leave Shias for later but I will make now another post for Ibadis and khamwarij because at least that's short.
 
The Ibadi movement, Ibadism or Ibāḍiyya, also known as the Ibadis (Arabic: الإباضية‎, al-Ibāḍiyyah), is a school of Islam dominant in Oman.[1] It is also found in parts of Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and East Africa. The movement is said to have been founded around the year 650 CE or about 20 years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, predating both the Sunni and Shia denominations.[2] Modern historians trace back the origins of the denomination to a moderate current of the Khawarij movement;[3][4][5]:3 contemporary Ibāḍīs strongly object to being classified as Kharijites, although they recognize that their movement originated with the Kharijite secession of 657 CE.[5]:3
The Ibadi movement, Ibadism or Ibāḍiyya, also known as the Ibadis (Arabic: الإباضية‎, al-Ibāḍiyyah), is a school of Islam dominant in Oman.[1] It is also found in parts of Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and East Africa. The movement is said to have been founded around the year 650 CE or about 20 years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, predating both the Sunni and Shia denominations.[2] Modern historians trace back the origins of the denomination to a moderate current of the Khawarij movement;[3][4][5]:3 contemporary Ibāḍīs strongly object to being classified as Kharijites, although they recognize that their movement originated with the Kharijite secession of 657 CE.[5]:3
The Ibadi movement, Ibadism or Ibāḍiyya, also known as the Ibadis (Arabic: الإباضية‎, al-Ibāḍiyyah), is a school of Islam dominant in Oman.[1] It is also found in parts of Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and East Africa. The movement is said to have been founded around the year 650 CE or about 20 years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, predating both the Sunni and Shia denominations.[2] Modern historians trace back the origins of the denomination to a moderate current of the Khawarij movement;[3][4][5]:3 contemporary Ibāḍīs strongly object to being classified as Kharijites, although they recognize that their movement originated with the Kharijite secession of 657 CE.[5]:3
Ibadis agree with Sunnis, regarding Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab as rightly-guided caliphs.[5]:7[11] They regard the first half of Uthman ibn Affan's rule as righteous and the second half as corrupt and affected by both nepotism and heresy.[5]:7 They approve of the first part of Ali's caliphate and (like Shī'a) disapprove of Aisha's rebellion and Muawiyah I's revolt. However, they regard Ali's acceptance of arbitration at the Battle of Ṣiffīn as rendering him unfit for leadership, and condemn him for killing the Khawarij of an-Nahr in the Battle of Nahrawan. Modern Ibadi theologians defend the early Kharijite opposition to Uthman, Ali and Muawiyah.[5]:10

Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta observed Ibadis praying Jumu'ah in Oman and said they prayed in the same manner as Zuhr prayer. He noticed that they invoked God's mercy on Abu Bakr and Umar but not Uthman and Ali.[2]

In their belief, the next legitimate caliph was Abdullah ibn Wahb al-Rasibi, the leader of the Kharijites who turned against Ali for his acceptance of arbitration with Muawiyah.[5]:10 All Caliphs from Mu'āwīyah onward are considered tyrants except Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, on whom opinions differ.[citation needed] Numerous Ibāḍī leaders are recognized as true imams, including Abdullah ibn Yahya al-Kindi of South Arabia and the imams of the Rustamid dynasty in North Africa. Traditionally, conservative Omani Ibadism rejected monarchy and hereditary rule,[20] and Ibadhi leaders were elected.[12]

Despite bitter religious disputes elsewhere, the Ibadis are realists and believe that reason and political expediency must temper the ideal Islamic state.[2]

Ibadis accept as authentic far fewer hadith than do Sunnis.[citation needed] Several Ibadi founding figures were noted for their hadith research, and Jabir ibn Zayd is accepted as a reliable narrator even by Sunni scholars as well as by Ibadis.[citation needed] After the death of Ibn Ibad, Ibn Zayd led the Ibadis and withdrew to Oman, where his hadith, along with those of other early Ibadis formed the corpus of their interpretation of Islamic law.[11]

The development of Ibadi theology happened thanks to the works of scholars and imams of the community, whose histories, lives, and personalities are part of the Islamic history.[21] Ibāḍī theology can be understood on the basis of their works Ibn Ibāḍ, Jābir bin Zayd, Abū ‘Ubaida, Rabī‘ b. Ḥabīb and Abū Sufyān among others. Basra is the foundation of the Ibāḍī community.[22] Various Ibāḍī communities that were established in southern Arabia, with bases in Oman, North Africa, and East Africa mainly.[22]

The fiqh or jurisprudence of Ibadis is relatively simple. Absolute authority is given to the Qur'an and hadith; new innovations accepted on the basis of qiyas, or analogical reasoning, were rejected as bid‘ah by the Ibadis. That differs from the majority of Sunnis[23] (except minority Zahiri and early Hanbali schools of Sunnism[24][25][26]) but agrees with Shias.[27]
 
And we've to Consider how Faransa and Bakhyia will add into islamic branch and school of jurisprudences too...when Faransa seems more orthodox sunni(with some european legal influences)... Bakhyia seems more unique too
 
Sorry for disappearing, lol. The update will come tomorrow!

I'll take my dawn to read this stuff and tomorrow will comment further on that, i desire that y'all are okay with all the coronavirus stuff...I'm good!
 
And we've to Consider how Faransa and Bakhyia will add into islamic branch and school of jurisprudences too...when Faransa seems more orthodox sunni(with some european legal influences)... Bakhyia seems more unique too
Frankish (and in the case of Bakhyia, Frisian as well) law will influence Islam quite a bit, although it would be mainly a regionalization of the religion. As example, we'll be able to see the faranish and andalusians drinking wine as like nothing is happening but it being actually comdemned at Bakhyia. Another case is women, legal system in Faransa will be heavily affected by Salic Law, while in Bakhyia, Frisian Law determinates equality between men and women of same rank, i didn't study sufficiently visigothic law to go further into these analogies but you caught what i'm talking about.

The update will be coming tomorrow because Easter was more occupied than i expected for a quarantine.
 
The Age of Collapse: Chapter 12
Muslim World - The Age of Collapse
Wonders of the Amber Coast: Pomerania and Prussia


Western Commerce, Piracy, Minathulatian Monopoly and Bakhyian Competition (763-769)
The Southeastern Baltic was a combination of things for the coming muslims, firstly, it was a land recognized for its riches in amber and wood that before then traveled by land into the Mediterranean, secondly, it was a land never seen before with its inhabitants near-equally distinct, although the pomeranians being slavs made them (somewhat) familiar, the prussians and curonians were a whole new thing to them.

The muslim-baltic contact on the region started in the late 750s but the first permanent "setting up of shop" was in 763, with the founding of the minathulatian trading posts at Gduńzc and Abōnā on the Vīsa River Delta [1], in the frontier territories of the Pomeranians (who are slavs) and Pomesanians (who are prussians). The contact soon turned into a goddamn profitable deal for all the parties involved, as the pomeranians and prussians gave their valuable amber for mediterranean and eastern products that were nearly never seen in the region, that were as luxurious as they were valuable for further trade down south.

As the pomeranians and pomesanians gradually enjoyed more and more the wonders of the east, the minathulatians soon tried to have monopoly over the commerce, setting up trading posts at Truso (764) and Šëčīt (765) [2], the minathulatians rapidly raised a lot of money with these ventures, with the city back in Faransa growing at a fast rate with the baltic trade.

But with war came competition, as minathulatian commerce in the region suffered with promoted piracy from its enemies allied with the curonians, as the curonian pirates rapidly discovered how valuable minathulatian prizes were, capture one of these and you'll become rich forever. But the real worrying just came when bakhyians from Grunnyn tried in 767 to set up a trading post in Truso, just to be rapidly expelled by the minathulatians, local prussians and local scandinavians after being outnumbered 15-to-1 in battle.

But the grunnians tried again next year, that time sailing further north, founding a trading post in the sambian settlement of Tewangt at the mouth of the Pregora River [3], where the locals had even more amber than in Truso, and were happy to permit the bakhyians to set up trade there, since they were jealous of the influence gained by the pomesanians after the trade with Minathulaty started.

Soon, the bakhyians were outprofiting the minathulatians and Tewangt growing into the main center on the region, with Truso being shadowed in its growth. Obviously, this caused conflict not just between the minathulatians and bakhyians, but between the prussians as well, as both the pomesanians and sambians wanted to be the most influencer between the tribes, and the biggest influencer would be the one whose able to trade more "Meisilim" [4] products to the interior.

With this, as the war between ukhawias raged on the northern seas, Prussia (with minor contributions by the slavo-baltic tribes around it, as the Polans, Pomeranians and Skalvians) would be as well consumed by war, for a lot of time, actually.

Fight For Influence and the First Prussian War (768-773)
As piracy continued in the Baltic Sea and on the land things got more and more hot politically, the presume for war started. The minathulatians by the back of the pomesanians applied directly to the Wayde at Romowe [5], requesting in 771 the expulsion of the bakhyians from Tewangt, by the basis of the equilibrium of power in the country being infringed by the bakhyian trade with the sambians.

Kriwe Rapan [6] was somewhat partial to the bakhyians, simply because they were less religious-minded (with the fact being that, a lot of them were actually pagans) than their minathulatian counterparts (that frequently tried to gain some converts, sometimes infuriating local priests, but the pulka [7] always pardoned them when they went too far), but knowing that to outright refuse this proposal would likely backfire on him, he convened the assembly.

The assembly was tense, and sides were quickly took, the Pogesanians and Lubavians sided with the Pomesanians, as they rapidly benefited from the trade routes opened by minathulatian activity in Truso. Meanwhile, the Nadruvians, Natangians and Bartians sided with the Sambian cause, leaving the Sasnans and Warmians to decide the final result. The Warmians soon became divided as the two factions tried to gain the upper hand, while the Sasnans sided with the Pomesanians.

With just Warmia remaining and a stalemate coming into being, internal divide rapidly became a thing, with the eastern pulka siding with the sambians and the western with the pomesanians. The earlier gained the tribal vote thanks to their numerical superiority, making the pomesanians win the assembly with the decision of expelling the bakhyians. But that wouldn't end as smooth as they expected.

The sambians would refuse to expel the bakhyians, and Rapan wouldn't enforce the issue, as actually, some months after the assembly, the bakhyians installed another trading post at Velowe [8] on natangian territory, what infuriated the westerns further was that Velowe was the site of a sacred tree. This also alienated the Kriwe, although not to the pomesanian side, but to neutrality, so after another unsuccessful request from the pomesanians, Wostinikis Stapēdan [9] moved by himself and with an army of 5.700 men, marched towards Sambia in September, being reinforced by more 12.500 men from the other tribes supporting the pomesanians, by the sea, the minathulatians transported 1.200 mercenaries and arrived at Tewangt first, surprising the sambians and bakhyians, the sambians were forced to retreat while the bakhyians were put into siege at their fort.

On the way to Sambia, the natangians put unexpected resistence at Pokarwis [10], importantly delaying the operation for all the winter. This permitted the sambians under Wostinikis Auksai to rout the mercenaries in Tewangt and after that march on by the winter to Pokarwis, setting camp nearby. By April 772, Auksai boldly decided to attack the prussians at Pokarwis, defeating them decisively at the Battle of Pokarwis and granting a long duration for the war, as the sambians marched through Eastern Warmia capturing the main settlements of the region.

After that, the Pomesanian Alliance regrouped at the Pasoras River [11], while the sambians soon were supported by the Bartians, becoming a larger force of 13.400 warriors that advanced on the pomesanians at Glottowia [12], where the pomesanians managed to make a stand and fend off the advance, bringing the war to an effective stalemate.

After this, Kriwe Rapan called on to peace negotiations between the tribes, resulting in a peace assembly being held at Saussaran [13], in sasnian territory (as the sasnians didn't join the conflict), after two seasons of debate between the tribes, the First Treaty of Saussaran was enacted at April of 773. The compromise was controversial, with the bakhyians being expelled from Velowe (the main source of conflict) but the bakhyian post at Tewangt was recognized (and as well the minathulatian post at Truso), while there were established heavy restrictions on muslim missionary activity based from their trading posts, beyond this, it was accepted that no more trading posts would be established in prussian territory.

The treaty left both the sambian and pomesanian factions equally disappointed, as the sambians were seeking for further trade with the bakhyians inland, and the pomesanians wanted to completely remove eastern competition for trade. But as the conflict between the ukhawias and Bakhyia stopped, an uneasy peace would rule over Prussia, but it all depended on the diplomatic ability of Kriwe Rapan.

[1]: Gduńzc is Gdańsk, while Abōnā is Malbork. The pronunciations being [g'duηsk] and [abo:'na:]. The Vīsa River Delta is the Vistula River Delta
[2]: Elbląg and Szczecin, respectively, pronunciations being [tru'zo:] and [ʃət͡sjet]
[3]: Tewangt is at actual Kaliningrad, pronounced [te'vang(t)] while the Pregora is the Pregolya River, pronounced [pre:'go:'ra]
[4]: How they call the muslims, pronounced as [mej.si.lim]
[5]: Wayde is the multitribal assembly of Prussia, convened by the high-priest, or, Kriwe, probably was the Wayde that decided to expel Saint Adalbert IOTL. Romowe is at the junction of the Rominta and Pissa rivers, near Gusev, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia
[6]: "Angel" in Old Prussian
[7]: Literally in Old Prussian, "Fields", they are the minor territorial division of the prussians, with the average population of 1.000 people (although they can be more or less populated than that, especially when you come to the pulka located at trade routes).
[8]: Snamensk, Russia. Pronounced [ve'lo:we]
[9]: Wostinikis = Ruler in Old Prussian, and Stapēdan means "Sharp Stone"
[10]: Ushakovo, Russia. Pronounced [po:'kar'vis]
[11]: Pasłęka River. Pronounced [pa'so:ra's]
[12]: Lidzbark Warmińsk, Poland. Pronounced [glo:dauja]
[13]: Cerkiewnik, Poland, meaning basically "Dry [Lands Around the] Lake". Pronounced [sau'zaran]
 
This post teach me more baltic story that anyone else, well worth the wait, the medieval story of what would become prussia is insane, with all the rivalries and factions and adding Muslim/Meisilim into the mix pushed it thanks to the prize of trade....well that might be the first step of prussia of becoming a nation later on. One already constant trade with the rest of Europe... that will be fun.

Amazing update buddy, very well done, informative and very unique, thanks for this update buddy
 
This post teach me more baltic story that anyone else
Researching for this chapter teached me more baltic story than i thought i would know for my entire life. Actually the main breakdown wasn't to write the chapter and actually to research for the chapter, i had to dig quite a bit around the internet to find the info i needed, so i'm glad you appreciated.
 
Researching for this chapter teached me more baltic story than i thought i would know for my entire life. Actually the main breakdown wasn't to write the chapter and actually to research for the chapter, i had to dig quite a bit around the internet to find the info i needed, so i'm glad you appreciated.
Yeah and it show, but completely worth it thanks all the details on it and was so well done buddy, well worth the wait for it
 
Malbork literaly was not settled back then, it was only founded by Teutonic Knights. The settlement became prominent in Xth century, why the hell Arabs would go to some village?
They just arrived and went to set up shop there, isn't like they made a great deal over the settlement there (actually, they went to Truso exactly because of that), and by now the settlement is just a fort used to limited trade with the locals as the settlements at Truso and Gduńzc gain proeminence, although this limited trade attracts people to the settlement. Isn't like they couldn't just build a settlement where they found more convenient (which is exactly the motivation to them moving to Truso). Pondichérry and Calcutta were, in fact, villages before trade arrived to turn them into major centres, development and establishment of settlements isn't based from how great the settlement is and yes why the settlement is great (because, before everything was there, people needed a reason to just set up en masse in one place).
 
They just arrived and went to set up shop there, isn't like they made a great deal over the settlement there
Very nice notes on the whole thing and seems this is a even bigger butterfly,as say before baltic know is more connected with Europe via Sea than Land(and because obvious butterflies, if the ambar road exist...will be far different) and that means already will affect the baltics long term, even as the nordic pirates are coming too...that will be fun in the future.

Talking about Amber Road..how is the ERE civil war going on?
 
Very nice notes on the whole thing and seems this is a even bigger butterfly,as say before baltic know is more connected with Europe via Sea than Land(and because obvious butterflies, if the ambar road exist...will be far different) and that means already will affect the baltics long term, even as the nordic pirates are coming too...that will be fun in the future.

Talking about Amber Road..how is the ERE civil war going on?
The Amber Road is on since antiquity and was just a fairly bit damned by the migration period. The ERE Civil War will be covered after the next series of updates :), i'll be already starting to work on it tomorrow.
 
Hey, just caught up with your TL and it's not turning out to be the Muslim wank I thought (not that it's a bad thing😁). Just curious a bit. Without Abbasid victory in Talas, wouldn't the use of paper stumble for a few decades? As far as I know, Tang prisoners openeed up the secret of paper making and it later spread across Europe and rest of Asia, ushering the golden age of knowledge after the Greeks. Assalamualaikum.
 
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