Ijma' is an Arabic term referring to the consensus or agreement of the Islamic community on a point of Islamic law. Sunni Muslims regard ijmā' as one of the secondary sources of Sharia law, after the Qur'an, and the Sunnah. Exactly what group should represent the Muslim community in reaching the consensus is not agreed on by the various schools of Islamic jurisprudence. Some believe it should be the Sahaba only; others the consensus of the Salaf ; or the consensus of Islamic lawyers, the jurists and scholars of the Muslim world, i.e. scholarly consensus; or the consensus of all the Muslim world, both scholars and lay people. The opposite of ijma is called ikhtilaf.
The Maliki school or Malikism is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary sources. Unlike other Islamic fiqhs, Maliki fiqh also considers the consensus of the people of Medina to be a valid source of Islamic law.
A madhhab refers to any school of thought within Islamic jurisprudence. The major Sunni madhāhib are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali. They emerged in the ninth and tenth centuries CE and by the twelfth century almost all jurists aligned themselves with a particular madhab. These four schools recognize each other's validity and they have interacted in legal debate over the centuries. Rulings of these schools are followed across the Muslim world without exclusive regional restrictions, but they each came to dominate in different parts of the world. For example, the Maliki school is predominant in North and West Africa; the Hanafi school in South and Central Asia; the Shafi'i school in East Africa and Southeast Asia; and the Hanbali school in North and Central Arabia. The first centuries of Islam also witnessed a number of short-lived Sunni madhhabs. The Zahiri school, which is considered to be endangered, continues to exert influence over legal thought. The development of Shia legal schools occurred along the lines of theological differences and resulted in the formation of the Ja'fari madhhab amongst Twelver Shias, as well as the Isma'ili and Zaidi madhhabs amongst Isma'ilis and Zaidis respectively, whose differences from Sunni legal schools are roughly of the same order as the differences among Sunni schools. The Ibadi legal school, distinct from Sunni and Shia madhhabs, is predominant in Oman. Unlike Sunnis, Shias, and Ibadis, non-denominational Muslims are not affiliated with any madhhab.
Al-Shafi'i was a Muslim scholar, jurist, traditionist, theologian, ascetic, and eponym of the Shafi'i school of Sunni jurisprudence. He is known to be the first to write a book upon the principles of Islamic jurisprudence, having authored one of the earliest work on the subject: al-Risala. His legacy and teaching on the matter provided it with a systematic form, thereby "fundamentally influenc[ing] the succeeding generations which are under his direct and obvious impact," and "begin[ning] a new phase of the development of legal theory."
Principles of Islamic jurisprudence are traditional methodological principles used in Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) for deriving the rulings of Islamic law (sharia).
Malabar Muslims or Muslim Mappilas are members of the Muslim community found predominantly in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands in Southern India. The term Mappila (Maha-Pilla) means Greater Child in Malayalam, Which is used to describe Malabar Muslims in Northern Kerala. Muslims share the common language of Malayalam with the other religious communities of Kerala.
Dhia' ul-Dīn 'Abd al-Malik ibn Yūsuf al-Juwaynī al-Shafi'ī was a Persian Sunni scholar famous for being the foremost leading jurisconsult, legal theoretician and Islamic theologian of his time. His name is commonly abbreviated as al-Juwayni; he is also commonly referred to as Imam al-Haramayn meaning "leading master of the two holy cities", that is, Mecca and Medina. He acquired the status of a mujtahid in the field of fiqh and usul al-fiqh. Highly celebrated as one of the most important and influential thinkers in the Shafi'i school of orthodox Sunni jurisprudence, he was considered as the virtual second founder of the Shafi'i school, after its first founder Imam al-Shafi'i. He was also considered a major figurehead within the Ash'ari school of theology where he was ranked equal to the founder, Imam al-Ash'ari. He was given the honorific titles of Shaykh of Islam, The Glory of Islam, The Absolute Imam of all Imams.
Islam arrived in Kerala, the Malayalam-speaking region in the south-western tip of India, through Middle Eastern merchants. The Indian coast has an ancient relation with West Asia and the Middle East, even during the pre-Islamic period.
Panakkad Syed Hyderali Shihab Thangal or Hyder Ali AlHusseini Ba Alvi was a sayyid (thangal) community leader and religious scholar from Kerala, southern India who was the Kerala State President and chairman, national political advisory committee, Indian Union Muslim League from 2009 to 2022. He was also the vice president of the Samastha Kerala Jam'iyyat al-'Ulama', the principal Sunni-Shafi'i scholarly body in Kerala.
Sayyid Ahmed Muhiuddin Jeelani Arabic:, popularly known as Noor-ul-Mashaikh or NooriShah Jeelani, He was a mujaddid 20th-century, sufimystic, orator, faqeeh, theologian, mujaddid and Islamic scholar of the Qadri–Chishti Order order from the Indian sub continent. He was a claimed descendant and the 21st generation of the Abdul Qadir Jilani, founder of Qadiriyya order.
E. K. Aboobacker Musliyar, known by followers as Shams-ul-Ulama, "the Sun of the Scholars", was a Shafi'i scholar and community leader from Kerala, south India. He served as the General Secretary of the Samastha-Kerala Jam'iyyat al-'Ulama', the principal Sunni-Shafi'i scholarly body in Kerala, from 1957 to 1996.
The Shafi'i school or Shafi'ism is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionist al-Shafi'i, "the father of Muslim jurisprudence", in the early 9th century.
Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen (KNM) is an Islamic organization in the state of Kerala founded in 1950. The organization is part of the Islamic reformist Mujahid Movement and follows the principles of Salafism. The Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen was formed as a result of renaissance activities among Keralite Muslims led by scholars and clerics such as Sheikh Hamadani Thangal, K.M. Moulavi and Vakkom Moulavi and E. Moidu Moulavi and Ummer Moulavi. Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen is considered as the successor of Kerala Muslim Aikya Sangam, the first Muslim organization in the state of Kerala, founded in 1924. The Mujahid movement laid the foundations of Islamic renaissance in Kerala by campaigning against corrupted practices of the Sufi orders, superstitions, false beliefs, polytheism etc., and called for the revival of true Islamic practices to the Muslim community in Kerala which had until then been severely lacking in crucial aspects of religious and socio-civic knowledge. The Mujahids consider themselves as proponents of authentic Islamic reform, pursuing a purified concept of Tawhid.
K. Ali Kutty, title Musliyar, is an Islamic scholar from Kerala, southern India. As of 2022 he was General Secretary, Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, the body of Sunni-Shafi'i scholars in northern Kerala and as of 2014 he was Principal, Jami'ya Nooriya Arabic College, Perinthalmanna (2003–present) and President, Ponnani Maunathul Islam Arabic College.
Sheikh Habib Muhammad bin Husayn Al-Jifri, also known as Syed Jifri Muthukoya Thangal is the current President, Samastha and he is an Islamic scholar, Teacher, religious leader and Qazi. He is an Islamic scholar from Kerala, India. He serves as President, Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, the body of Sunni-Shafi'i scholars in northern Kerala. Thangal is the 11th president of the Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama.
Sayyid Ali Shihabudden AlHussaini Ba Alavi, or P. M. S. A. Pukkoya Thangal, of the Pukkoya family of Panakkad, South Malabar, was an Indian sayyid (thangal) community leader and Indian Union Muslim League politician from Kerala. He was born in 1913 as the son of Sayyid Husain Shihabudden Al-Hussaini Ba Alavi. He served as the Kerala State President, Indian Union Muslim League and the President of Samastha Kerala Jam'iyyat al-'Ulama'.
Pukkoya family of Panakkad is a Yemeni-origin sayyid (thangal) family based in present-day northern Kerala. The family, claiming descent from the family of Muhammad, is generally revered by the Sunni Shāfiʿī Kerala Muslims. The thangals are respected as religious and political leaders amongst the Muslims of Kerala.
Arabic Colleges in southern India refer to the educational institutes of higher Islamic learning. They are sometimes also known as Oriental Title Colleges in Kerala, and they are the near equivalent of north Indian madrasas. Graduates from Arabic Colleges can sit privately for the state recognized "Afzal-ul-Ulama" credential, which qualifies them to serve as Arabic Language teachers in state educational institutions.
Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama of EK Sunnis also known as Samastha and EK Samastha is a Sunni-Shafi'i Muslim scholarly body in Kerala. The body administers Shafi'ite mosques, institutes of higher religious learning and madrasas in India. The Samasta Kerala Jamiyatul Ulama, popularly known as Samastha, is the Sunni scholarly organization with the highest support among Kerala Muslims. The formation of the Samasta was a response of these traditional ulama to the conditions of the post-1921 era, in which Kerala Muslim society in general witnessed a radical shift from the ladder of individual leadership to the ladder of organizations.
