"Madhhab" is derived from the Arabic verb "zahaba," meaning "to go" or "to choose one's own way.". In Islam, madhhabs are schools of Islamic law that emerged from diverse interpretations of the Quran and the Sunnah by various scholars over the centuries.  

Emergence of Islamic Schools of Law

The emergence and development of madhhabs was conditioned by local and regional factors at the early stage of the development of Sharia sciences due to the absence of systems for deriving legal norms from the Sharia. In the early generations of Muslims after the departure of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in the absence of the possibility to extract legal norms from the Quran and the Sunnah, people turned to the opinions of the companions and their followers, the fatwas of the first four caliphs, and began to group around the opinions of the most authoritative companions in the field of fiqh. With the establishment of Kufa as the new capital of the Islamic caliphate, the city became a center of trade, craft, and science, attracting people from all over the Islamic world and leading to unprecedented legal questions. Unlike Medina, where many companions and their followers lived, there were fewer in Kufa. Moreover, this region saw a wider spread of fabricated hadiths compared to Medina, which was home to many hadith scholars (muhaddith). These factors led Islamic scholars in Kufa to develop criteria for verifying authenticity of hadiths and guidelines for deriving legal norms from the Sharia. The criteria for interpreting the Sharia included considering logic and the wisdom of the Sharia, laying a rational approach to the interpretation of the Sharia. 

Islamic study circles, notably active in regions like the Hejaz, Iraq, Syria, and Egypt, were instrumental in the systematic development and dissemination of regional legal doctrines. These early Sharia schools of law, each with its own methodology shaped by geographical factors, evolved into schools centered around the teachings of leading Islamic scholars, a transformation facilitated by the advent of a written culture that allowed doctrines encapsulated in books to transcend their original locations, thereby shifting the identity of schools from specific places to distinguished individuals. In particular, the school of Medina became associated with Imam Malik, Medina’s most prominent jurist in the late 8th century, and came to be known as the Maliki school, and the school of Kufa turned into the Hanafi school, named after its jurist, Imam Malik’s contemporary Imam Abu Hanifah. The Malikis and the Ḥanafis placed greater emphasis on regional traditions, incorporating these features from the regional schools into the frameworks of their schools for deriving Sharia norms. In contrast, later Islamic scholars like Imam Al-Shafi'i and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal prioritized authentic Hadith over regional doctrines, advocating for a jurisprudence deeply rooted in the Quran and the Sunnah, thereby transforming the landscape of Islamic jurisprudence. Imam Ahmad ibn Ḥanbal drew on both prophetic traditions and the opinions of early Muslim jurists throughout Muslim lands. Imam Al-Shafi’i proposed a system in which the Quran and the Sunnah were the only authoritative sources of law and then developed a toolkit of methods for systematically deriving legal rules from the sources and extending these rules to areas not directly covered by the sacred texts. Later Islamic scholars who followed Imam Al-Shafi'i formed the Shafi’i school, and the followers of Ahmad ibn Ḥanbal formed the Hanbali school. The formation of legal schools of the Sharia was also influenced by the extensive collection and analysis of Hadith. The regional schools had already made use of such traditions. Muslim scholarship maintained that the classical compilations of hadiths - especially those of Al-Bukhari and Muslim constituted an authentic record of the Sunnah of the Prophet Mukhammad, peace be upon him. The four imams did not introduce new concepts; rather, their works systematized the methods of earlier Islamic scholars in deriving legal norms from the Sharia. As a result, the foundational schools of Islamic law emerged each named after their respective founders and distinguished by their unique methodologies and interpretations of the Sharia. 

1. The Hanafi school of law. The Hanafi School, named after its founder Imam Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him (699 A.D - 767A.D.), emerged in Iraq and is known for heavily relying on Qiyas (analogical reasoning). This school of thought prioritized rationality and human reasoning, the understanding and practice of the Islamic rulings, thus allowing greater flexibility in legal judgment. This approach allows for a flexible interpretation of legal judgments, making it adaptable to changing societal conditions.
2. The Maliki school of law. The Maliki School emerged in Medina and was founded by Imam Malik ibn Anas, may Allah have mercy on him (711 A.D. - 795 A.D.). The Maliki doctrine, rooted in Imam Malik's works like the Muwattah and Mudawwana, values the practices of Medina's people, viewing these practices as the living traditions of the Prophet Muhammad's early companions, peace be upon him, unless they do not contradict hadiths. This perspective offers a unique foundation for his legal formulations. It places significant importance on the consensus (Ijma) among scholars. 
3. The Shafi’i school of law. The Shafi’i School was founded by Imam Muhammad ibn Idris Al-Shafi’i, may Allah have mercy on him (767 A.D. - 820 A.D.). Imam Al-Shafi’i also lived in Mecca. He was thoroughly familiar with and well-versed in the doctrines of both the Hanafi and Maliki schools. The Shafi’i school proposes a balanced integration of the Quran, Hadith, consensus (Ijma), and analogical reasoning (Qiyas). The Shafi’i school of law is derived primarily from Imam Shafi’i’s works ar-Risala fi Usul-al Fiqh and Kitab al Umm. Imam Al-Shafi’i’s contribution lies in his collation and synthesis of legal theory and methodology in Islamic jurisprudence, which laid the groundwork for Usul al-Fiqh as a Sharia science studying a comprehensive system of methodology for deriving legal rules from primary sources. 
4. The Hanbali school of law. The Hanbali School was founded by Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him, (780 A.D. - 855 A.D.). The Hanbali school is noted for its strict adherence to the Quran and Hadith, minimizing the role of human reasoning in favor of direct textual evidence if a textual source is available. This school also emphasizes the primacy of prophetic traditions and early Muslim jurisprudence. 

Muslims attribute an equal value to all four schools of Islamic law. The differences between them are in the domain of the application of the law and not in the principles of the Sharia. These four madhhabs share fundamental concepts in Islam but differ on secondary matters related to legal interpretation of Sharia norms. The differences are rooted in the classification and understanding of the Hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, as well as the preference for specific methods in deriving legal norms in the absence of direct guidance in the primary sources of the Sharia, the Quran and the Sunnah. For example, the Hanafi madhhab, which formed around the teachings and methodology of Imam Abu Hanifa who was born and lived in Kufa, has stricter criteria for verifying the authenticity of hadiths compared to other madhhabs. It is also characterized by a rational approach, which was common among Islamic scholars in Kufa. When primary sources do not provide clear legal norms, the Maliki madhhab turns to fatwas, the opinions of the companions, and the early traditions of the people of Medina, provided there is no conflicting evidence in the hadiths. The diversity within these legal traditions underscores the dynamic and adaptable nature of Islamic jurisprudence. These schools illustrate the adaptability of the Sharia to different cultural and geographical contexts, ensuring its continued relevance.