Hanafi Vs Shafi: Fiqh Schools

What is the difference between Hanafi and Shafi?

Hanafi and Shafi are two of the four main Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), which provide interpretations of Islamic law based on the Qur’an and Sunnah.

The Hanafi school is named after Abu Hanifa, who lived in Iraq in the 8th century. Hanafi scholars emphasize the use of reasoning (ijtihad) in deriving legal rulings and place a greater emphasis on the community’s consensus (ijma) and the use of analogical deduction (qiyas).

The Shafi’i school is named after Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi’i, who lived in Egypt in the 9th century. Shafi’i scholars place a greater emphasis on the Qur’an and Sunnah as the primary sources of Islamic law and give less weight to consensus and analogical deduction.

Overall, the differences between the two schools are primarily centered around their approaches to the interpretation of Islamic law and their relative weighting of the different sources of law.