By: Soukaina Ait-Elfakih | Islamonline.net
The influence of the Islamic East persisted over the Islamic West and Al-Andalus until the political separation of both regions. Subsequently, the Islamic West and Al-Andalus emerged as new entities, embracing a distinct Fiqh doctrine and political strategy compared to the East. The jurisprudential mentality formed in Al-Andalus and the Islamic West in the Maliki school. However, there were many attempts to adopt other schools such as the Hanafi, the Awza’i, the Shafi’i, and the Zahiri school. Based on Ibn Hazm’s statement that the Maliki school spread in Al-Andalus through leadership and politics, several factors contributed to the prevalence of certain schools in the Islamic West and Al-Andalus, especially during the classical period between the fourth and the seventh centuries.
Zahiri School was one of the jurisprudential schools that received its share of adoption attempts in the Islamic West and Al-Andalus, but several factors prevented it. This research paper will shed light on the most important reasons for the disappearance of the Zahiri school in the Islamic West and Al-Andalus through a detailed examination of Political, Social, and jurisprudential dynamics.
