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Welcome to a source of answers for all of your Fiqh questions. We now have Mufti Shaykh Manzar-ul-Islam Azhari on our Fiqh Board to help in your quest for knowledge and understanding of Fiqhi issues in Islam.Shaykh Manzar-ul-Islam is a graduate of Al-Azhar University and is a qulaified Mufti in Hanafi, Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanabali schools of Fiqh. Additionally he is well versed in Aqida, Tafseer, Hadith and Tasawwuf.He will be assisted when needed by a team of high calibre scholars from around the world insha Allah.

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The Famous Mujtahid Imams: Their lives, works and schools of Fiqh: A brief introduction

Imam Abu Hanifah (81-150 H 700-767 CE)

He died in 150 AH/767CE. He met the companions of the Prophet (saw) and is counted amongst the Tabi'un (followers). He is renowned for his piercing intellect as faqih, his scrupulousness, integrity of character and his resoluteness in the face of oppression. His school is historically associated with the rule in India and is the most widely followed school of thought. This makes his study particularly important for the English speaking readers since it gives them an in-depth appreciation of the school followed by the majority of the Muslims in the world.

Imam Malik (94-179 H / 716-795 CE)

The first of the four great Sunni imams and founder of the Maliki school of thought. He lived his whole life in Madina where much of the Quran was revealed and most of the legal practices of Islam established. He spent his life studying, recording and clarifying the legal parameters and precedents which was passed down to him by the first two generations of Muslims who were the direct inheritors of the perfected form of Islam left by the Prophet (saw). This book not only gives the biographical details of the Imam's life but also puts it in its historical context and most importantly, shows us the methods he used in reaching his legal conclusions which played a vital part in preserving exactly the legacy of the pure Divine Guidance left by the Prophet and his Companions.

Imam Al Shafi'i (150-205 H / 767-820 CE)

founder of the Shafi'i school of thought. He was remarkable in that he resolved the differences of opinion that arose in the still evolving Muslim community and brought them together in the most outstanding legal system in the whole history of mankind. This book looks at his life and traces the development of his thought. It talks of his teachers and his followers and shows how the system he devised grew out of the intellectual and political currents of his time. It also gives an in-depth historical analysis of the various movements and sects which formed the background to the Islamic world in which he lived.

Imam Ahmad Ibn Hambal (164-241 H / 780-855 CE)

Chronologically the last of the four imams and lived just after the first three generations of exemplary Muslims, thus confronting a slightly different situation from that faced by his three predecessors. This necessitated a fresh approach to the legal issues arising out of the situation of the rapidly expanding urban development and imperial government which had started to engulf much of the Muslim community. The book shows how Imam Ahmad through his incredible personal integrity and scrupulous adherence to sound tradition was able to chart a course through a story period in which he lived. His example provided his followers with the legal bases of what later became the Hanbali madhab.

Imam Ja'far As Sadiq (80-148 H 699-765 CE)

The son of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, son of al-Imam Zain al-`Abidin, son of Imam al-Husayn, son of `Ali bin Abi Talib , Ja`far was born on the eighth of Ramadan in the year 80 H. His mother was the daughter of al-Qassim , whose great grandfather was Abu Bakr as-Siddiq . He had a circle of students in Madinah and two founders of Sunni Schools of Law, Imam Malik and Imam Abu Hanifah studied with him. Ja'fari School of Law is named after him.

He spent his life in worship and acts of piety for the sake of Allah. He rejected all positions of fame in favor of `uzla or isolation from the lower world. One of his contemporaries, `Umar ibn Abi-l-Muqdam, said, "When I look at Ja`far bin Muhammad I see the lineage and the secret of the Prophet Muhammad united in him."

He took the knowledge of hadith from two sources: from his father through `Ali and from his maternal grandfather al-Qassim. Then he increased his knowledge of hadith by sitting with `Urwa, `Aata, Nafi` and Zuhri. The two Sufyans, Sufyan ath-Thawri and Sufyan ibn `Uyayna. Imam Malik, Imam Abu Hanifa, and al-Qattan all narrated hadith through him, as did many others from later hadith scholars. He was a mufassir al-Qur'an or master in exegesis, a scholar of jurisprudence, and one of the greatest mujtahids (qualified to give legal decisions) in Madinah.

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