Hanafi School

Overview

The oldest and most widely followed school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence, founded by Imam Abu Hanifa (699-767 CE) in Kufa, Iraq. It is distinguished by its emphasis on reason (ra'y), analogical deduction (qiyas), and juristic preference (istihsan). The Hanafi school is the dominant madhab in Turkey, the Balkans, Central Asia, South Asia, Iraq, Syria, and parts of Egypt. It was the official legal school of the Ottoman, Mughal, and Abbasid empires.

Key Beliefs

• Greater use of analogical reasoning (qiyas) and juristic preference (istihsan)
• More systematic categorization of hadith for legal derivation
• Generally more flexible in accommodating local customs (urf)
• Emphasis on the practical application of law
• Distinction between obligatory (fard) and necessary (wajib) acts