How Did the Four Sunni Schools Emerge? | Prof. Hasan Onat

http://y2u.be/76i8AbPSZhg How Did the Four Sunni Schools Emerge? Prof. Dr. Hasan Onat The four Sunni schools are truly a significant part of Muslim thought today. First, let's talk about what these schools are. I will explain chronologically. The death of Imam-ı Azam (The Great Imam) Abu Hanifa's death is 150 Hijri. Then there was Imam Malik in the Hijri 170s. The death of Imam Shafi'i was between the years 204-205. Of these four mentioned sects, the last Ahmet Ibn Hanbal died in 241 Hijri. If we follow the chronology; the Hanafi school, the first of the four schools; was not present in Abu Hanifa's health. After Abu Hanifa passed away, a number of his students, such as Abu Yusuf Abbasi, took part in the government, allowing the Hanafi school to spread more easily in different parts of the lands Abbasids reigned in. In other words, after Abu Hanifa passed away, a school which we call the Hanafi school emerged. This is a very important finding. Then there is Imam Malik, who had contact with with Abu Hanifa. Subsequently, Imam Shafi Hijri 205, so now we’re into the third century. Later, in Hijri 241 Ahmet Ibn Hanbal. The coexistence of four of these schools together wasn’t until the second half of the third century. When did the dominant perception of the four schools develop in society? The Abbasid government saw the most serious threat from the Fatimids who emerged in Egypt. Despite the Fatimid spread, Salahudin Ayyubi, Ayyubids and Seljuks sought a resurgence against the Shiite spread. In modern terms, we call this consolidating your base. In order to hold the Sunni base together against the Shiite expansion, to unify it and keep it strong against the Shiite expansion, these four schools have been further reinforced for a political purpose, after the fourth century Hijri. With the contribution of the Ayyubids and the Seljuks; the Abbasids had introduced to society the concept of the four accepted Sunni schools. Therefore, let us make this determination; although the four schools’ grounds appear to be religious, it is essentially political. Once these issues are understood, we can examine the four schools as follows; 1. You cannot speak of any denomination being a right one or a wrong one. Why? Because every school has its own rights and wrongs. When you say the right denominations, you will also have to talk about wrong denominations in return. 2. When you say four correct schools, you reduce Islam to four schools, which is contrary to the universality of Islam. 3. When you say four correct schools, those who belong to these schools can be interpreted as seeing them as groups that are saved. This is both against Islam and against human reality. As for a right school, do you see atheist and agnostic people coming out of these schools? It may be so. So, do you think that among the groups that you do not regard as a right, can people come out that are pleasing to God Almighty? Yes, they can. So instead, if you think of Islam through its common denominator, the principles within the Qur'an, you can say that the beliefs of individuals can be right or wrong, rather than saying that schools are right and wrong. Moreover, Islam's understanding of freedom does not give anyone the right to question the faith of anyone else. La ikrahe fiddin - there is no compulsion in religion. This verse, chapter 2, verse 256, is truly a universal principle in these terms. 1. You cannot force anyone to enter any religion or Islam. 2. You cannot force anyone to fulfill the orders and prohibitions of Islam and its worship practices. 3. God Almighty has not authorized anyone to question the faith of another. For these reasons, we need to reconsider the notion of the four correct schools. What is essential here is to build consciousness of the common denominator of Islam and to see the schools as a fact. If we can see it this way, different interpretations and different insights of these schools will open up the horizon for us and we will have the opportunity to benefit from them.