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13 Berkeley J. Middle E. & Islamic L. 1 (2026)

handle is hein.journals/bjme13 and id is 1 raw text is: Reasons for Legal Difference Amongst the Four Sunni Schools of Law Dr. Ahmed Khater* Why do the four Sunni schools of Islamic law differ in their positions on legal questions? Few works in the English language have examined the reasons for these differences. The principal reasons for this differing are found in the various areas of Islamic legal theory (usal al-fiqh) and from this legal framework I outline a qualitative typology of the causes of differing. For each type of difference, I provide examples of issues wherein such differences occur. Positions within the four Sunni legal schools are presented, examined, and employed as practical examples. The relied-upon positions of the scholars are used, unless other positions are needed for illustration. This paper is organized around the legal theory arguments as put forth by the legal schools, and they are presented as such, regardless of my own position and analysis of them. In the few cases where I do not approve of the position ascriptions in the comparative texts, I do not use them for the main example. This study affirms the intricate nature of legal theory and its impact on the differing of jurists. It aims to facilitate understanding ofhow differences in legal theory may lead to differences in jurisprudence. REA SON S W HY JURISTS DIFFER.........................................................2 METHODS.................................................................................................3 DIFFERENCES DUE TO THE EVIDENCE ITSELF...............................4 The Same Version of Evidence .......................................................4 Being U naw are of a H adith......................................................4 Forgetting a H adith ..................................................................8 A uthenticity of a H adith...........................................................9 Consensus......................................................................................12 DOI: https:/doi.org/10.15779/Z382Z12S4T Copyright © 2026 Regents of the University of California * B.A., University of California, Berkeley; B.A., Al-Azhar University; M.A., Graduate Theological Union; Ph.D., Graduate Theological Union; Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies & Core Doctoral Faculty, Graduate Theological Union; Adjunct Associate Professor of Islamic Studies, St. Mary's College of California; Mufti (Jurist), Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America. 1