Virtues of the Four Imams

Ibn 'Abd al-Hadi al-Maqdisi

• Virtues of the Four Imams: a key to understanding Sunni fiqh

The French book “Virtues of the Four Imams” presents, through authentic reports and classical testimonies, the great founding figures of the Sunni legal schools: Abu Hanifa, Malik, al-Shafi‘i and Ahmad ibn Hanbal. With a historical and spiritual approach, the author Ibn 'Abd al-Hadi al-Maqdisi shows how these scholars shaped fiqh and laid the doctrinal and methodological foundations that still structure Islamic thought today.

The work explains how the Virtues of the Four Imams are reflected in their lifelong dedication to seeking knowledge, protecting the Sunna and preserving the principles of Sunni fiqh. The reader discovers, page after page, their outstanding qualities: piety, sincerity, legal intelligence, patience in trials and constant attachment to authentic sources. Thus, the book does more than collect biographies; it offers a spiritual and methodological portrait of these major references of Islam.

• Virtues of the Four Imams: piety, methodology and lasting legacy

Drawing on classical sources, “Virtues of the Four Imams” highlights their exemplary behaviour in worship, in the pursuit of knowledge and in their relationship with the believers. Moreover, the reader understands how their positions, legal choices and caution in issuing fatwas helped to establish a balanced fiqh, firmly rooted in the Qur’an and the Sunna. In fact, the convergence of their aims, despite the diversity of their schools, illustrates the unity of the way of the scholars of the Sunna in defending the truth.

In addition, the collected reports show how their students and later generations regarded them as models of integrity, humility and courage in the face of trials. Consequently, the legacy of the four schools is not limited to technical legal differences; it represents a complete way of living the Sharī, combining rigour in evidence, respect for earlier opinions and mercy towards Muslims. This perspective helps the reader to place the Virtues of the Four Imams within a continuous history of transmitting knowledge.

• An introductory and consolidating work for English-speaking readers

Clear and well structured, this French book is an excellent entry point for anyone who wants to understand how the madhahib emerged and why the study of the “Virtues of the Four Imams” remains essential for approaching Sunni jurisprudence with balance. The style is accessible yet well documented, making it useful both for beginners and for students of Islamic studies. It helps to place each school in its context, to distinguish principles from secondary details and to appreciate the wisdom behind the diversity of opinions.

Readers who wish to deepen the doctrinal dimension and see how the creed of the early scholars appears in the texts will find it particularly relevant to complement this volume with “The Creed of the Early Imams: Texts & Biographies” . This second work gathers key texts on the aqida of the imams of the Sunna and sheds light, in a coherent way, on the spiritual and theological legacy highlighted in the “Virtues of the Four Imams”. Together, these two books offer a solid and harmonious overview of the path of the early imams, both in fiqh and in belief.