Scholars and schools of thought

Q.1. Could you let me know to which school of thought did Imam Al-Bukhari and the other five famous scholars of Hadith, as well as Imam Ibn Taimiyah and Imam Ibn Hajar belong?

Q.2. Recently, I joined the imam in a congregational prayer after the imam had finished two rakaahs. After the imam completed his prayer, I stood up to complete my prayer, but I did only one rakaah, and completed my prayer thinking that I have finished. When I left the mosque I had no thought that my prayer was one rakaah short. I did not remember what I did until some time later on. What should I do?

M. Shamsul-Haque, Riyadh

A.1. The six scholars who made the six most authentic collections of Hadith lived early in the 3rd century. They were too close to the period when the four imams who established the four schools of thought lived. In fact, when Al-Bukhari completed his collection known as the Sahih, he showed it to Ahmad ibn Hanbal, because the latter was the top authority on Hadith, particularly its reporters. The schools of thought had not yet been truly established as such. Each imam had his own methodology and students. A school of thought comes into being when the students of an imam become top scholars in their own right, following his methodology. They would pass on their knowledge to another generation of scholars who will continue that line. Over several generations a school of thought becomes well-established.

In the early period of Islam, there were many scholars who rank at the same level as the founders of the schools of thought, but these did not establish their own schools because their students were not as numerous, or as highly recognized as those of Abu Haneefah, Malik, Al-Shafie and Ahmad. Hence, their lines were not continued. The six scholars of Hadith, Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood, At-Tirmithi, An-Nassaie and Ibn Majah studied under several prominent scholars of their time. They were able to distinguish evidence supporting each view. They followed what they felt to be closer to the truth, not any particular school of thought.

Imam Ibn Taimiyah is recognized as an Imam who could have his own school of thought. But he did not seek such a position, and he continued to consider himself as belonging to the Hanbali school of thought. Imam Ibn Hajar belonged to the Shafie school of thought.

A.2. Had you remembered your missing rakaah shortly after you had finished your prayer, i.e. before you left the mosque, you should have offered it there and then, and added two prostrations for forgetfulness, i.e. sujood sahw. The fact that you did not remember until much later means that if the question was merely a doubt on your part, saying to yourself: did I complete 4 rakaahs or did I really offer 3, without being able to make a clear judgment, then your prayer is valid. If, on the other hand, you are certain that you only prayed 3 rakaahs instead of 4, you should repeat that prayer.

The four schools of Islamic law

Q.1. When were the four schools of Islamic law instituted and what were the reasons for that?

Q.2. Did the Prophet offer his prayers in different ways?

Y. Ali Ahsanuddin, Riyadh

A.1. If we date the four schools of Islamic law by their founders then we say that they all started in the second and early part of the third centuries of the Islamic era. Imam Abu Haneefah was the earliest of the four scholars. He was born in year 80 and died in 150. Imam Malik was born in 93 and died in 179, while Al-Shafie was born in 150 and died in 204. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal was born in 164 and died in 241. May God bless them all.

None of these scholars started with the aim of establishing a school of his own. However, they distinguished themselves as scholars of the highest caliber. Each of them had a large number of students, many of whom later became eminent scholars in their own right. Sufficient it is to say in this regard that Imam Ahmad was a student of Al-Shafie, while Al-Shafie studied under Malik for 9 years and under Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan of the Hanafi school for three years. These schools differ in their methodologies which help them to arrive at verdicts to questions that are put to them.

A.2. Basically prayer is the same, but schools of Islamic law differ in certain aspects of prayer. These differences are largely due to the way prayer was taught by different companions of the Prophet to different communities. The differences suggest that the Prophet actually resorted at different times to some variations in the form of prayer. The Prophet performed his prayers in such different ways to indicate that they are all acceptable.

Inheritance of grandchildren

Q. Three of my grandfather’s four sons died during his lifetime, leaving behind children of their own. Besides that, my grandfather has four daughters. Can his grandchildren inherit him, knowing that some of his property was originally earned by his deceased sons, but registered in his name? If it is not possible, may I ask that, since a grandfather may inherit from his grandchildren, why cannot the same process operate in reverse?

M.A. Azmi, Alkhobar

A. There is a direct line of inheritance in the Islamic system, which goes down to include children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, and goes up to include parents, grandparents and great grandparents, etc. However, this is subject to a rule that inheritance does not move a step higher or lower while there are heirs in the step nearer to the deceased. Thus, a grandfather does not inherit from his grandson, should his own son be alive. A grandson does not inherit from his grandfather if his own father, i.e. the deceased’s son is alive.

However, in the case of a grandfather surviving his son who has children of his own, those grandchildren may inherit on the basis of the compulsory will principle. This principle means that the grandfather shall be deemed to have made a will in favor of his grandchildren to a maximum of the lesser amount of either one-third of his property or his deceased son’s share had he survived him. This will is deemed to be made even though it does not exist.

Having said that, I would like to add that Islam encourages a grandfather in such a situation to make a will in favor of his grandchildren, so as to be fair to them. In the case of our reader, the grandchildren may inherit on the basis I have explained. Moreover, if some of the property registered in the grandfather’s name actually belongs to his deceased sons, he should immediately return it to the estates of his deceased sons so that their children may benefit by it. It is not right that he should retain it in his name, because it may all go to his surviving children who have no claim to it. As I have explained, the Islamic system of inheritance works equally in the cases of grandchildren and grandparents. There is no distinction of degree.