Islam and Muslims (Sunni Muslims)

Most statements about Islam (both in this FAQ and in general) apply to Sunni Islam, which represents the vast majority of Muslims. Although the differences between Sunni Islam and the various Shi'ite sects started out as political, the distinction between the two groups has gradually become more and more theological as well.

In principle, Sunni Muslims' relationship with God is direct and is not mediated by anything like a priest or rabbi. Some religious figures may exercise a great deal of political or social power, but committees of socially important believers in each community are generally responsible for the management of the mosque and its land.

Sunni Muslims also recognize just four orthodox schools of legal thought. The two earliest were founded by Abd Allah Malik ibn Anas (ca. 715-95) and An Numan ibn Thabit Abu Hanifa (ca. 700-67), and are known now as the Maliki and Hanifite schools. The Maliki school is centered around Medina and Malik's law book is the earliest known Muslim legal text. The Hanifi school is located in Iraq and stresses the use of individual opinion in rendering legal judgments.

The other two schools were founded by Muhammad ibn Idris ash Shafii (767-820) and Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal (780-855), and are now known as the Shafi'ite and Hanbali schools. Shafii was a member of Muhammad's Quraysh tribe and was a distant relative of his. Shafii studied under Malik in Medina, but ended up following his own path, creating rules of analogy for the purpose of reaching legal opinions on matters which were not covered in direct statements made by Muhammad.

Hanbal's legal school is centered in Baghdad and became prominent in Saudi Arabia because it is the only school accepted by the Wahhabi Muslims. This schools places the primary emphasis on the Hadith as the source of law and rejects later innovations made by other schools, scholars and religious figures.