Why four Imams differ from each other?

While it is a fact that all the Imam derived their laws directly from the Quran and sunnah, there are many factors which led to them reaching different conclusions. We will explain a few of these factors in brief, with examples where necessary:

1.Differences concerning the authenticity of a hadith
A-Conditions for acceptance- Each Imam and muhaddith laid down certain conditions for a hadith to be classified as Sahih (Authentic) in his opinion. These conditions differed from person to person, thus many a hadith would be sahih according to one and not sahih in the eyes of another.Thus the one who classified it as sahih would deduce a ruling from it while the other would not accept such a ruling. This difference is found amongst the Muhaddithin to a great extent, thus we find Imam Muslim in the foreword to his Sahih, devoting a special chapter to discussing the difference of opinion between him and Imam Bukhari on certain conditions for authenticity. In his opinion, Imam Bukhari had laid down conditions that were too strict and which would lead to many acceptable ahadith, being rejected.

B. Does a hadith have to be sahih, in order to practice upon it?- Everyone agrees that if a hadith is sahih or hasan, it could be practiced upon, however difference of opinion arises concerning those ahadith which contain slight weaknesses. According to the majority of Ulama, a slightly weak hadith can be practiced upon, if there are no other narrations on the topic, however some Ulama disagree, thus they would not accept a ruling deduced from such a narration

C. Difference in the wording of the hadith- It is an accepted practice amongst the muhaddithin to narrate a hadith with different wording, however ensuring that the meaning was kept intact.However some Fuqaha like Imam Abu Hanifah (Rah) laid down a condition that the one who changes the wording must be a faqih, so that he could ensure that the understands the proper meaning of the hadith, thus not changing the meaning unintentionally. An example of this is a hadith: "He who performs janazah salah in the musjid, then there is nothing against him (Alaihi). " On the basis of this hadith some Imams opine that there is nothing wrong with performing janazah salah in a musjid. However others, like Imam Abu Hanifah show that the correct wording is "He who performs janazah salah in the musjid, there is nothing for him" ("lahu" not "Alaihi"). The other version is said to be a distortion caused by a narrator who wasn't cautious when changing the wording.

2. Differences in understanding a hadith

These difference are based on two main aspects:

A. Differences in the intellectual capacity of each person- Thus sometimes 2 Imams had seen the same hadith, however Allah granted one of them the ability to deduce a ruling from it, that never crossed the mind of another. An incident that illustrates this very beautifully is one mentioned by Mulla Ali Qari about a person who inquired a masalah from Imam Abu Hanifah. When the Imam answered him, the great Tabi'ee and muhaddith Al-A'mash, who was sitting nearby, asked Imam Saheb: " Where did you get this ruling from?" Imam Sahib then narrated 6 ahadith (none of which mentioned any rulings) that he had learnt from Al-A'mash himself, the combination of which Imam Saheb used to deduce the ruling. Al-A'Mash was dumbfounded and said:"The ahadith that I narrated to you over 100 days, you are mentioning to me in a few seconds! I never imagined that you could deduce anything from these narrations! O Fuqaha! You are the doctors and we (the muhadditheen) are the chemists. (ie. we supply the ahadith and you deduce the ruling from them).

B. A hadith very often could entertain two or more meanings- Thus one Imam would prefer one meaning and pass a ruling on it, while another would prefer another meaning.

3. Differences in deducing a ruling from narrations seemingly contradictory to each other

This is amongst the main causes of differences of opinion. The books of ahadith are full of narrations seemingly contradictory to one other. Each Imam laid down his own principles for dealing with these eg.

Some would try to reconcile between the narrations, by interpreting them in a manner allowing them to conform with one another.

Some would take one to be abrogated and would thus act upon the other

Some would mention reasons for preferring one to the other.

4. Differences based on their being aware of a certain hadith

The ahadith of Nabi (sallalahu Alaihi wasallam) and those mentioning the practices of the sahabah number in the millions and their is no-one who can claim to have memorised every single one of them. Thus at times an Imam would issue a ruling on a hadith which he was aware of, while the others would issue a contradictory ruling on account of them not being aware of this hadith.

These are a few of the primary factors which lead to the differences of opinion we find between the Mazahib.

This answer is a summary of the incredible book " Atharul Hadith As-Sharif" by the great Hanafi Scholar of Madinah Shaikh Muhammad Awwaamah (Daamat Barakaatuhu).

and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best

Mufti Ebrahim Desai