The Laythi Madh’hab
The Founder: Imam Layth ibn Sa’d (716-791CE)
Imam Layth was born in Egypt, but his origin is Persian. He studied under all of the available scholars in Egypt and travelled in search of knowledge. He was a contemporary of Abu Hanifa and Malik. He became the leading scholar in Egypt.
He carried on a debate by mail with Imam Malik regarding the issue of whether the custom of the Madeenites should be included as a source of Islamic law.
His Method of Teaching:
His teaching approach was similar to that of Imam Malik. He taught using Hadith, was not of the hypothetical Fiqh persuasion, and didn’t like the excessive use of Qiyas.Disappearance of the Laythi Madh'hab:
His Math’hab did not survive the presence of Imam Shafi’i, who came to Egypt after his death, This is mainly because he did not personally dictate or compile his rulings, nor did he instruct his followers to do so. They also taught without making a particular effort to do so.
Imam Ash-Shafi’i came looking for Imam Layth,but when he arrived he had already passed away, and was obliged to study under his students. He studied and combined the fiqh of Imam Layth with that of the Fiqh of Hijaz and the Fiqh of Iraq. He settled there and became the outstanding scholar, and people gravitated around him, and subsequently Imam Layth’s Madh’hab disappeared.
Also Imam Layth’s students were fewer than Imam Malik, and there didn’t appear among them outstanding students like Abu Yusuf who would keep the Math’hab alive. However his ideas were passed on. Imam Shafi’i absorbed those ideas, and they had such a profound influence on him that he changed over 50% of his rulings based on the new knowledge he got from Imam Al-Layth’s students.
He also made the famous statement that Imam Al-Layth was a greater scholar with regards to law than Imam Malik. That’s a heavy statement and was one which was not a prejudiced opinion, because he was a student of Imam Malik for over 20 years.
So the four well known Madh’habs were not divinely ordained. Allah through his destiny allowed them to survive, but it doesn’t mean they were the best. The bottom line is that the effort made by the early scholars was absorbed by others. There was no loss in spite of the disappearance.
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