The Differences of The Imams

The Differences of The Imams

This is a welcomed and much needed addition to the study of the Four Imâms and White Thread Press should be commended for their excellent job in revitalising this work of Muḥammad Zakariyyâ Kândhlawî (d. 1402/1982). It remains true to the original Urdu text obtained by the publishers from Dâr al-ʿUlûm Deoband. They have not only brought this work to English speaking Muslims but they have added references to the work and edited it for clarity by adding headings and diacritical marks for more precise transliteration in the Arabic. I recommend reading this once you are familiar with the works, lives and to some extent the methodology of the Four Imâms. If you are not acquainted with the basics then its best to leave this work until you have some knowledge in those areas otherwise you will not benefit from this work to the same extent.

The book aims to explain why the four established schools of thought in Islam have differed on so many points in their rulings despite deriving verdicts using the same sources, the Qur’ân and the Sunna. Thus the question is asked, if they take their rulings from the same source then how can they have so many differences? This is where this work comes to life. Though I must stress it is not exhaustive in demonstrating a point, it leaves you with enough information for you to either build on the point with the foundation set or at least come away with a clearer