madhahibHanafi

The Hanafi madhhab, or Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence, is one of the four major Sunni legal schools (madhahib). It was founded by Abu Hanifa an-Nu'man ibn Thabit (699–767 CE) in Kufa, developing a method of deriving rulings through the Qur'an and Sunnah, complemented by ijma (consensus) and qiyas (analogical reasoning). The school also incorporates local custom (urf) and, to varying degrees, istihsan (juristic preference) and maslahah mursalah (public interest). Its early core doctrine was further elaborated by Abu Hanifa's pupils, notably Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani, who compiled practical legal opinions and rules.

The Hanafi method spread widely and became the predominant madhhab in large parts of the Muslim world, especially in Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh), Turkey, the Balkans, and various regions of the Middle East and North Africa. It played a central role in the legal framework of the Ottoman Empire and influenced commercial, civil, and family law across many areas.

Compared with the other Sunni schools—Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali—the Hanafi approach is often characterized by a relatively greater emphasis on reasoned opinion, qiyas, and the incorporation of local custom in the absence of explicit texts. Today, the Hanafi school remains one of the most widely followed legal traditions in the Muslim world, with active scholarship and ongoing discussion across different regions.