Hanafi school: Difference between revisions

The '''Hanafi school''' or '''Hanafism''' ({{lang-langx|ar|ٱلْمَذْهَب ٱلْحَنَفِيّ|translit=al-madhhab al-ḥanafī}}) is one of the four major [[madhhab|schools]] of [[Islamic jurisprudence]] within [[Sunni Islam]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Ramadan |first=Hisham M. |year=2006 |title=Understanding Islamic Law: From Classical to Contemporary |publisher=[[Rowman Altamira]] |isbn=978-0-7591-0991-9 |pages=24–29}}</ref> It was established by the 8th-century [[ulama|scholar]], [[faqīh|jurist]], and [[theologian]] [[Abu Hanifa]] ({{circa|699–767 CE}}), a [[tabi'un|follower]] whose legal views were primarily preserved by his two disciples [[Abu Yusuf]] and [[Muhammad al-Shaybani]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Warren|first=Christie S.|title=The Hanafi School|url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195390155/obo-9780195390155-0082.xml|access-date=26 August 2020|website=Oxford Bibliographies}}</ref> As the oldest and most-followed of the four major Sunni schools, it is also called the "school of the people of opinion" (''madhhab ahl al-ra'y'').<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Eid |first=Muhammad |date=5 June 2015 |title=المذهب الحنفي… المذهب الأكثر انتشاراً في العالم |url=http://masjidsalahudin.com/?p=506 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507105308/http://masjidsalahudin.com/?p=506 |archive-date=7 May 2019 |access-date=5 June 2015 |website=Masjid Salah al-Din |language=ar}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Al-Haddad |first=Husam |date=17 November 2014 |title=المذهب الحنفي.. المذهب الأكثر انتشاراً |url=https://www.islamist-movements.com/6012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507105334/http://www.islamist-movements.com/6012 |archive-date=7 May 2019 |access-date=17 November 2014 |website=Islamist Movements |language=ar}}</ref> Many Hanafis also follow the [[Maturidi school]] of [[aqidah|theology]].

One who ascribes to the Hanafi school is called a '''Hanafi''', '''Hanafite''' or '''Hanafist''' ({{lang-langx|ar|ٱلْحَنَفِيّ|translit=al-ḥanafī}}, {{plural form}} {{lang-langx|ar|ٱلْحَنَفِيَّة|translit=al-ḥanafiyya|label=none}} or {{lang-langx|ar| ٱلْأَحْنَاف|translit=al-aḥnāf|label=none}}).

The Abbasid Caliphate and most of the Muslim dynasties 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.<ref name=jle1>John L. Esposito (1999), ''The Oxford History of Islam'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195107999}}, pp. 112–14</ref> The [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasids]] patronized the Hanafi school from the 2nd Hijri century onwards. The Seljuk Turkish dynasties of 5th and 6th Hijri centuries, followed by Ottomans and Mughals, adopted Hanafi Fiqh. The Turkic expansion spread Hanafi Fiqh through Central Asia and into [[Indian subcontinent]], with the establishment of [[Seljuk Empire]], [[Timurid dynasty]], [[Chagatai Khanate|several Khanates]], [[Delhi Sultanate]], [[Bengal Sultanate]] and [[Mughal Empire]]. Throughout the reign of 77th Caliph and 10th Ottoman Sultan [[Suleiman the Magnificent]] and 6th Mughal emperor [[Aurangzeb|Aurangzeb Alamgir]], the Hanafi-based [[Qanun (law)|Al-Qanun]] and [[Fatawa-e-Alamgiri]] served as the legal, juridical, political, and financial code of most of West and South Asia.<ref name=na1>Nazeer Ahmed, ''Islam in Global History'', {{ISBN|978-0738859620}}, pp. 112–14</ref><ref name=jle1/>

It is estimated that up to 30% of Muslims in the world follow the Hanafi school. Today, most followers of the Hanafi school live in [[Turkey]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Pakistan]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Turkmenistan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[China]], [[Syria]], [[Jordan]], [[Uzbekistan]],[[Tajikistan]], [[Afghanistan]], [[India]], [[Egypt]], [[Albania]], [[Kosovo]], [[Cyprus]] and [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]. Also, a limited number of followers of this school live in [[Iran]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Lebanon]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Myanmar]], [[Nepal]], [[Russia]], and [[Iraq]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Refugees |first=United Nations High Commissioner for |title=Refworld {{!}} Sri Lanka: Information on whether there is a Hanafi Muslim community in Sri Lanka, and on its origin, numerical strength and where the majority of its members are located |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aade48.html |access-date=2023-10-11 |website=Refworld |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ahmady |first=Kameel |title=[[From Border to Border]] Comprehensive research study on identity and ethnicity in Iran |publisher=Scholars’ Press publishes |year=2023 |editor-link=Kameel Ahmady |location=Moldova |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Abu Hanifah {{!}} Biography, History, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abu-Hanifah |access-date=2023-10-11 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Di Maio |first1=Micah |last2=Abenstein |first2=Jessica |date=2011 |title=Policy Analysis: Tajikistan's Peacebuilding Efforts Through Promotion of Hanafi Islam |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48603036 |journal=Journal of Peacebuilding & Development |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=75–79 |doi=10.1080/15423166.2011.950863228443 |jstor=48603036 |s2cid=111103531 |issn=1542-3166}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Will you give information about which madhhab is common in which country? |url=https://questionsonislam.com/question/will-you-give-information-about-which-madhhab-common-which-country}}</ref>