Among perhaps more than twenty of such schools that emerged...

Among perhaps more than twenty of such schools that emerged, four of them became more popular: the Hanafi school, under the leadership of Abu Hanifah; the Maliki school, under the leadership of Malik ibn Anas al-'Asbahi; the Shafi'i school, under the leadership of Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi'i; and the Hanbali school, under the leadership of Ahmad ibn Hanbal al-Shaybani.

These schools emerged during the reign of the `Abbasids (132-656/750­1258) (an elaborate discussion about these schools will be done while discussing the various periods in the history of ijtihad). The practice of ra'y was called "ta'wil" during the era of the Sahabah and not "ijtihad bi al-ray". This was true of the early days of the era of the Tabi'un as well. The term ta'wil was used by Khalid ibn al-Walid, who killed Malik ibn Nuwayrah, and also by Abu Bakr.

In order to examine this usage, we will have to go into the details of the episode involving Khalid. [^2] After the Prophet's demise, a group of people gathered in Saqifat Bani Sa'idah and chose Abu Bakr for the caliphate. Khalid ibn al-Walid was one who had played an active role in the affair. After the event, he was dispatched with a force to collect zakat from the dissidents. During the course of his assignment, he went to a tribe inhabiting the region of Batch and demanded zakat.

They declined to pay, stating that they did not acknowledge anybody except `Ali ibn Abi Talib as the Prophet's successor, as the Prophet (S) had nominated `Ali (A) to succeed him at Ghadir Khum while returning from the Last Pilgrimage. They stated that on this ground they would not pay zakat to anybody except some­one appointed by `Ali (A). Khalid ibn al-Walid responded to the position taken by the people of that tribe by committing a horrible crime.

He ordered Dirar ibn Azwar al-'Asadi to behead Malik ibn Nuwayrah, the chief of the tribe. Khalid did not stop at this; he slept with the wife of Malik the same night. To celebrate the occasion, he slaughtered a sheep and ordered Malik's head to be put in the fire under the cooking pot.

After his return, in order to justify his inhuman act and to make it appear something legitimate, he said: "Since this tribe had apostatized, I had to treat them in this manner." But within a short time, facts of the case came out. Abu Qatadah and `Abd Allah ibn `Umar gave witnesses in favour of Malik ibn Nuwayrah. Khalid had no alternative except to confess.