So what kind of differences are we talking about?

For example, Sunni scholars differed over the permissibility of eating the meat of a hyena, and differed over whether or not a Muslim should place his/her hands on their chest when standing up after bowing during the prayer, and whether Muslim women should veil their faces in public or not. There are many other issues, but it’s safe to say, these issues over which there is respected difference are not the fundamentals of our religion. Don’t get me wrong, some are important issues with far-reaching consequences, but there exists a measurable tolerance regarding them. Meaning, you may attend the masjid for prayer and pray next to someone who follows one opinion, and on your other side is another who follows a different opinion regarding the issue. Which do you have to choose? As a new Muslim, it really doesn’t matter, if we are picking from recognized scholarly opinions arrived at by the methods of Islamic scholarship.

So how do these differences occur?

Any of several factors could influence…

• The existence of relevant valid evidence. Or what was available to the scholar in question at the time he studied the issue. For example, if one scholar had travelled more than another and thus collected more prophetic narrations, then he would be more likely to have knowledge that another lacked, or perhaps know that the tradition that another scholar relies upon does not reach the authenticity level required to confidently attribute it to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Of the Four Imams, Ahmad ibn Hanbal was the most widely traveled and most knowledgeable of hadeeth.
• The interpretation of that evidence. Other times, the difference between two or more scholars would regard how a specific text refers to a ruling or not. For example, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ once sent his companions on an expedition and said to them “do not pray the afternoon prayer until you reach the fortress of Bani Quraiẓah.” The companions set out and the sun was about to set before they reached the fortress. A group of them said, “We are not going to pray the afternoon prayer until we reach our destination.” A literal interpretation. Another group said, in so many words, “The Prophet ﷺ only meant for us to hurry up and reach there before the sun set, while it is an undisputable part of our religion to pray the afternoon prayer before the sun sets.” A metaphorical interpretation that refers back to other teachings they learned. Thus, some of them prayed along the way while the other group delayed their prayer. When the Prophet ﷺ finally met up with them, he heard about their difference over the matter and dismissed it without saying which party was correct, because they each lived according to what they knew, understood and believed to be correct. This story was recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim. Thus, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, “if a judge or mujtahid strives to achieve the correct ruling in an issue but makes a mistake, he receives one reward, and if he is correct, he receives two.” Recorded by al-Nasā’ī and al-Tirmidhi. Of the Four Imams, Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi’i was arguably the most knowledgeable of the Arabic language and textual understanding.
• In the absence of scripture directly addressing the issue, the principles and intellectual tools that take precedence. This more often concerns issues of halal and haram, not worship. Contemporary issues are rife with examples, like organ-donating, photography, intellectual property, and celebrating Thanksgiving, just to name a few. Scholars will typically try to extract a ruling for such issues by finding analogous issues addressed by scripture. Imam Abu Hanifa is undoubtedly the most experienced with this exercise, known as qiyās. But when that is absent, then the scholars consider the various principles that Islam champions and other maxims that the Quran and Sunnah provide, and judge whether such phenomenon are congruent with the spirit of Islam or conflicting. The school of Imam Malik has authorized the widest number of non-scriptural instruments.

Disagreement between the scholars of fiqh, from the era of the companions to our time today are primarily for those reasons.

The lesson we gained from the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was that these differences are not worth arguing over—at least not us laymen—and each Muslim is entitled to follow whatever qualified scholar’s ruling they come upon and believe to be rightly-guided.

These four scholars, and the schools named after them, are all of the same Sunni theology, and their differences are subtle to outsiders—especially new Muslims. Since they all had great respect for each other, and took from the same sources, the differences are almost laughable.

The reason these schools spread about is simply because before their existence, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his companions never compiled a single book called “The Last Book You’ll Ever Need to Read on How to Practice Islam from A to Z”. No sir. These scholars filled a vacuum and essentially allowed us to do that, although, there may be subtle differences on their arrangement of the A to Z.

The sad drawback of this is especially witnessed in the West and other places where Muslims from different parts of the world gather and practice Islam under a single roof. Some Muslims are uneducated about the historical differences (or I should say similarities) between the four schools and see any minute practice that differs from what they are used to as wrong. Especially when they compete to influence new Muslims according to their own tradition. The “four imams” knew one another and respected each other greatly, as did their students, even if they liked to debate each other academically, but they never let that debate spill over into the streets and affect the laity on a large social scale.

Unfortunately, for several centuries in Muslim history, later generations of scholars from these four schools became partisan and defended their school, finding fault in the opinions of the other schools, creating some estrangement between Muslims of the world. Thankfully, throughout all of Islamic history, there have been scholars that have not only recognized the importance of having recorded sets of fiqh, but also recognize that no imam is infallible after the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and that everyone is bound to make mistakes. None of the imams themselves claimed their opinions to be infallible, and each admitted that the greater truth of a disputed issue could be with someone else. We have no choice but to tolerate this part of our history and the Muslim communities’ growing apart yet coming together in varying ways.

Thus, Muslims should only use those schools, or any Islamic instruction method, as a way of practicing Islam, not creating division or confusing beginners or declaring it “the only true way”.

Technically speaking, nonprofessionals never need to subscribe to a specific school, especially new Muslims, so don’t feel pressured by anyone to declare one, or just smile and nod when you are told otherwise. Laity are not required to do any more than ask resident scholars when they need guidance on correct application, as Allah says:

{ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ} ﴿٧﴾ سورة الأنبياء

{So ask the people of the scriptures, when you do not know} [21:7]

In the 21^st century, classical fiqh schools still influence the way Muslims practice much of their religion, specifically the aspects that have remained unchanged since those schools stabilized. For example, the basics of worship, and many of the regulations of halal and haram. But to tackle the contemporary problems that the modern world has challenged Islamic scholarship with, a different system has emerged. Official bodies of qualified and academically trained scholars of Islam can be found in most countries with a sizable Muslim population. Members, from multiple fiqh-school backgrounds, may meet on an agreed upon basis to discuss a set of issues they’ve been assigned to conduct research for and propose Sharia-compliant solutions. These councils and committees, whether or not they are linked publicly to their hosting government—like in Muslim majority countries, or if they are non-profit independent organizations, now serve the great task of answering the questions that were not addressed by previous generations. For example, in Saudi Arabia there exists the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta, and there is also the Egyptian Fatwa Institution. In the West, there is the European Fiqh and Research Council, the Fiqh Council of North America, and the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America, among others.  There are even international committees and conferences (like the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) and the Muslim World League) where scholars from all over the world gather to discuss the Muslim world’s most pressing matters, in addition to academic conferences at universities throughout the world. Independent researchers outside these bodies may still propose alternative solutions, since there may be no hierarchy or executive branch to canonize or publicly officiate any particular conclusion reached by a committee. So just as Muslims have been free to follow any opinions from the 4 schools, they remain free to follow any supported opinions promoted by qualified and respected Islamist researchers of Islamic Law to take as a proof between themselves and Allah when Allah asks us on the Day of Judgment why we followed this opinion instead of the other.

{فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ} ﴿٤٣﴾ سورة النحل

{So ask the people of the scriptures, if you do not know} [16:43]