Home›Sources›The Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law, 9th-10th Centuries C.E.SourcesThe Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law, 9th-10th Centuries C.E.Citation FormatsGeneral ReferenceGeneral Reference Citation TextDivinity Atlas. "The Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law, 9th-10th Centuries C.E.." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/the-formation-of-the-sunni-schools-of-law-9th-10th-centuries-c-e.Copy General ReferenceAPA StyleAPA Style Citation TextDivinity Atlas. (n.d.). The Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law, 9th-10th Centuries C.E.. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/the-formation-of-the-sunni-schools-of-law-9th-10th-centuries-c-eCopy APA StyleBibTeXBibTeX Citation Text@misc{divinityatlas-the-formation-of-the-sunni-schools-of-la, author = {Divinity Atlas}, title = {The Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law, 9th-10th Centuries C.E.}, year = {2026}, url = {https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/the-formation-of-the-sunni-schools-of-law-9th-10th-centuries-c-e}, note = {Accessed August 30, 2026} }Copy BibTeXChristopher Melchert is a scholar of early Islamic law, and this academic book, published by the academic press Brill, traces the historical process by which the classical Sunni schools of jurisprudence, such as the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools, actually formed and consolidated between the ninth and tenth centuries, working from early Islamic legal and biographical sources. Its strength is close source based reconstruction of a formation process later tradition sometimes presents as more settled and linear than the earliest evidence actually supports. Its limit is that it is a specialized academic study aimed at readers with background in early Islamic history, focused specifically on the schools' institutional formation rather than serving as an introduction to their substantive legal content.FactsCross-Tradition ConnectionsClaims Backed By This Source (77 claims)Comments (0)Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)FactsCitationAuthorWell-attestedChristopher MelchertPublisherWell-attestedBrillPublication YearWell-attested1997URLWell-attestedhttps://archive.org/details/formationofsunni0000melcSource TypeWell-attestedacademic monographAssessmentReliability TierWell-attested1Christopher Melchert's scholarly study, published by Brill, of the historical formation of the surviving Sunni legal schools in the ninth and tenth centuries.NotesWell-attestedScholarly study of the historical formation of the surviving Sunni legal schools (madhabs) in the ninth and tenth centuries. Use for established historical facts about the formation of Sunni legal schools.Cross-Tradition ConnectionsAssociated WithSunni, Denominations Well-attested This source names Sunni directly: "process by which the classical Sunni schools of jurisprudence, such as the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools, actually formed and consolidated between the ninth and tenth centuries..."Source The Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law, 9th-10th Centuries C.E.Christopher Melcherttier 1Claims Backed By This Source (77 claims)This source backs 77 claims across the atlas. As facts: 54 well-attested. As cited relationships: 6 holds. Plus 17 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.Disposition By TopicSchools of Religious Law, 34 claims: 29 well-attested, 1 holds, 4 general references.Articles, 15 claims: 9 well-attested, 6 general references.Sources, 9 claims: 8 well-attested, 1 holds.Doctrines, 8 claims: 4 holds, 4 general references.Beliefs & Restrictions, 6 claims: 5 well-attested, 1 general references.Historical Figures, 3 claims: 2 well-attested, 1 general references.Denominations, 2 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 general references.Well-attested54ArticlesHow a School Forms around a ManHow Anyone Could Know That Everyone Had AgreedThe Split That Let Maliki Doctrine Answer Shafii's AttackBeliefs & RestrictionsAuthority of the four Sunni schools of jurisprudenceDenominationsSunniHistorical FiguresMalik ibn AnasSchools of Religious LawHanafi SchoolHanbali SchoolMaliki SchoolShafii SchoolSourcesThe Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law, 9th-10th Centuries C.E.Holds6DoctrinesAmal Ahl al-Madina (The Practice of the People of Medina)Ijma (Scholarly Consensus)Qiyas (Analogical Reasoning)Schools of Religious LawHanafi SchoolSourcesThe Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law, 9th-10th Centuries C.E.General References17ArticlesA Dispute That Shaped Islamic Legal Theory as a DisciplineA Framework Adopted Far Beyond the School That Argued ItAhmad ibn Hanbal's Preference for Transmitted Report Over AnalogyHow Anyone Could Know That Everyone Had AgreedMalik ibn Anas and the Doctrine of Medinan PracticeThe Split That Let Maliki Doctrine Answer Shafii's AttackBeliefs & RestrictionsAuthority of the four Sunni schools of jurisprudenceDenominationsSunniDoctrinesAmal Ahl al-Madina (The Practice of the People of Medina)Ijma (Scholarly Consensus)Qiyas (Analogical Reasoning)Usul al-fiqhHistorical FiguresMalik ibn AnasSchools of Religious LawHanafi SchoolHanbali SchoolMaliki SchoolShafii SchoolComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearThe atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.Show This Year