[Hanbali]

Hanafi School

Founder:
Imam abu Hanifa (Nu'maan bin Thabit) [this can get funny sometimes since some people quote Imam Abu Hanifa and Numaan bin Thabit as if they are two different people]
died 150 AH
lived in Kufa, Southern Iraq

"Co-Founders":
Abu Yusuf and Muhammad b. Hasan al-Shaybani

Approach:
Relies heavily on Qiyas (analogy) and speculative thought instead of literal and rigid readings of hadeeths
Thus known as Ahl al-rai (People of Opinion) as opposed to Ahl al-hadeeth (People of hadeeth)
Ahl al-Rai loved theory, as opposed to Ahl al-hadeeth who loved practical things only. So they would ask a lot of "what if" questions and then debate it...such as "what if we lived on the moon: in what direction would we pray?" This would obviously involve a lot of Qiyas so you can see why Hanafis would like debating such things.

Following:
Most widespread madhab
Indian Subcontinent, Afghanistan, Turkey, Iran, even Syria
Because it uses Qiyas, the Hanafi school of thought caters to changing circumstances, and therefore caters to diverse cultures, norms and circumstances. Hence, it is followed primarily by non-Arabs.

Ninja Turtle Who most closely resembles this madhab:
Donatello

Hanbali School

Founder: Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal
died 241 AH
lived in Khorasan (modern day Iran) and was Persian himself
Imam Hanbal was a student of Imam Shafi'i and a teacher of Imam Bukhari

Main Followers:
Ibn Taymiyah and his students Ibn Qayyim and Ibn Katheer were the main advocates of the Hanbali school of thought.

Approach:
most literal of all the schools, taking almost every text by its words only. The strict and rigid literal interpretations of hadeeths made it become known as Ahl al-hadeeth, as opposed to Ahl al-Rai.
Therefore it is farthest away from the Hanafi school of thought
The emphasis is on not making any academic somersaults in order to interpret the text. Rather, the Hanbalis rigidly adhere to the texts of authentic hadeeth.
This approach is often regarded as being most suitable to those who have little inclination towards philosophy and other humanities.

Following:
It has always been the smallest madhab, but takes great pride in this, saying that the truth is with the few elite.
Dominates Saudi Arabia
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal was the last of the four Imams to live and this was perhaps one of the reasons that the madhab did not spread as much, since other areas had already firmly established themselves in other madhabs.

Ninja Turtle Who most closely resembles this madhab:
Rafael

Maliki School

Founder: Imam Malik ibn Anas
died 159 AH
lived in Madeenah

Approach:
Imam Malik's approach to jurisprudence is to follow the practice of the people of Madinah, whom he thought were the closest to the original Sunnah of the Prophet. He argued that if the community of Madinah agreed or sanctioned a certain act, then their view should be given priority over any other since Madinah was the hub of Islamic knowledge and practice. In fact, Malik has given preference to the practice of the people of Madinah over some Hadith that did not conform with the known practice.
Most of his verdicts originate from the collection of Hadith which he himself compiled in his book Muwatta.

Following:
Most of Imam Malik's students travelled to North Africa and Spain and hence almost all of North Africa (excluding Egypt), Spain and Sudan follow the Maliki school of thought.

Ninja Turtle Who most closely resembles this madhab:
Michaelangelo

Shafi' School

Founder: Imam Mohammed ibn Idris as-Shafi'i
died 204 AH
first lived in Madeenah, then moved to Iraq, and finally to Egypt

Approach:
Imam Shafi' went through many stages. In fact, later in life he rescinded many of his earlier fatwas.
When he lived in Madeenah, he was a student of Imam Malik. (Ahl al-Madeenah)
Then he moved to Iraq, a place dominated by Hanafis, and he debated with Ahl al-Rai. At this point in time, he adopted the methodology of Ahl al-Hadeeth, in opposition to Ahl al-Rai. He debated with Abu Haneefa's colleague (and the co-founder of the Hanafi school of thought): Muhammad b. Hasan al-Shaybani
However, he learned a lot from debating with Ahl al-rai, and eventually he moved to Egypt, where he fused the two schools of thought together--Ahl al-hadeeth and Ahl al-rai.
It could be said that Imam Shafi' had the honor of using all three approaches and creating a fusion: ahl al-hadeeth, ahl al-madeena, and ahl al-rai.

Following:
Egypt, Malaysia, Indonesia Iraq and some of the African countries

Ninja Turtle Who most closely resembles this madhab:
Leonardo

[sally]

The Four Seasons in a Nutshell

spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

[Hanbali]

I edited it so that it would become a bit more readable. Please someone make corrections if anything is messed up. I hope I got the ninja turtles right.

[Raeesa]

lol i always liked the turtle rafael the best...

Hmmmm "academic somersaults in order to interpret the text" whilst i get wat u meant to say... almost seems a lil anti hanafi in that sentence.

[MuslimZ]

rafael ftw.

[Rida]

leonardo was the blue one with the swords right?

[sally]

four seasons is also a nice restaurant.

[Budmano786]

teenage mutant ninja turtles, teenage mutant ninja turtles, teenage mutant ninja turtles...heroes in a half-shell, turtle power

[sixpakistan]

you have them mixed up

i'd say:

donatello = hanafi
rafael = hanbali
leonardo = shafii

michelangelo as maliki is dead-on

[Hanbali]

ok I agree with you about donatello being hanafi...switched leonardo and donatello...i think hanbali would be leonardo actually (a man of few words)

[sixpakistan]

Originally Posted by Hanbali

ok I agree with you about donatello being hanafi...switched leonardo and donatello...

word

Originally Posted by Hanbali

i think hanbali would be leonardo actually (a man of few words)

leonardo should be shafii - a large % of our greatest ulema were shafi, so they are in a sense sort of the 'quiet leaders'

hanbali = rafael because hanbalis tend to be very literal & view things in terms of black/white, like rafael

[Revert]

Master Splinter is totally Imam Al Ghazali...

[nooni]

Originally Posted by Revert

Master Splinter is totally Imam Al Ghazali...

shaytan is so shredder!

[Budmano786]

what about that big machine with an eye on it...who's that

nevermind, don't answer that...this is getting a little too weird

[nooni]

Originally Posted by Budmano786

what about that big machine with an eye on it...who's that

nevermind, don't answer that...this is getting a little too weird

what in the heckers are u talking abt?? what episode did i miss?