Ja'fari school in the context of "Ismaili"

A madhhab (Arabic: مَذْهَب, romanized: madhhab, lit. 'way to act', IPA: [ˈmaðhab], pl. مَذَاهِب, madhāhib, [ˈmaðaːhib]) refers to any school of thought within Islamic jurisprudence. The major Sunni madhhab are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali. They emerged in the ninth and tenth centuries CE and by the twelfth century almost all Islamic jurists aligned themselves with a particular madhhab. 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 Zaydi madhhabs amongst Isma'ilis and Zaydis 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.

The transformations of Islamic legal institutions in the modern era have had profound implications for the madhhab system. With the spread of codified state laws in the Muslim world, the influence of the madhhabs beyond personal ritual practice depends on the status accorded to them within the national legal system. State law codification commonly drew on rulings from multiple madhhabs, and legal professionals trained in modern law schools have largely replaced traditional ulama as interpreters of the resulting laws. In the 20th century, some jurists began to assert their intellectual independence from traditional madhhabs. With the spread of Salafi influence and reformist currents in the 20th century; a handful of Salafi scholars have asserted independence from being strictly bound by the traditional legal mechanisms of the four schools. Nevertheless, the majority of Sunni scholarship continues to uphold post-classical creedal belief in rigorously adhering (Taqlid) to one of the four schools in all legal details.

Islam is the majority religion in Azerbaijan. Estimates include 97.3% in 2020 by The World Factbook and 99.2% in the 2006 Demographic and Health Survey according to Pew Research Center of the population identifying as Muslim. A majority of them belong to the Shia branch (55–65% of Muslims), while a significant minority (35%–45%) are Sunni. Traditionally, the differences between these two branches of Islam have not been sharply defined in Azerbaijan.

Shia Muslims in the country typically adhere to the Ja'fari school of Shia Islam, while most Sunni Muslims either the Hanafi or Shafi'i school. Due to many decades of Soviet atheist policy, Muslim religious affiliation in Azerbaijan is largely cultural and ethnic rather than religious. Shia Islam is prevalent in the western, central, and southern regions of the country. Traditionally, villages around Baku and the Lankaran region are considered Shia strongholds. In contrast, Sunni Islam is dominant in the northern regions.

Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq (Arabic: جعفر ابن محمد الصادق, romanized: Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣādiq; c. 702–765) was a Muslim scholar, jurist, hadith transmitter and the sixth and last agreed-upon Shia Imam amongst Twelvers and Isma'ilis. Known by the title al-Sadiq ("The Truthful"), Ja'far was the eponymous founder of the Ja'fari school of Islamic jurisprudence. In the canonical Twelver hadith collections, more traditions are cited from Ja'far than that of the other Imams combined, although their attribution to him is questionable, making it hard to determine his actual teachings. Among the theological contributions ascribed to him are the doctrine of nass (divinely inspired designation of each Imam by the previous Imam) and isma (the infallibility of the Imams), as well as that of taqiya (religious dissimulation under persecution).

Al-Sadiq is also revered by Sunni Muslims as a reliable transmitter of hadith, and a teacher to the Sunni scholars Abu Hanifa and Malik ibn Anas, the namesakes of the Hanafi and Maliki schools of jurisprudence. Al-Sadiq also figures prominently in the initiatic chains of many Sufi orders. A wide range of religious and scientific works were attributed to him, though no works penned by al-Sadiq remain extant.

Islam is the majority religion in Azerbaijan, with various reports have estimated that 97.3% (CIA, 2020) or 99.2% (Pew Research Center, 2006) of the population identify as Muslim, with the majority (50–65%) being Shias and a significant minority (35–40%) being Sunnis. Traditionally, the differences between these two branches of Islam have not been sharply defined in Azerbaijan, as a major portion of the population are cultural Muslims. As such, the country is considered to be the most secular in the Muslim world.

Shia Muslims in the country typically adhere to the Ja'fari school of Shia Islam, while most Sunni Muslims follow the Hanafi school. Due to many decades of Soviet atheist policy, religious affiliation in Azerbaijan is often nominal, and Muslim identity tends to be based more on culture and ethnicity than on religion. Shia Islam is prevalent in the western, central, and southern regions of the country. Traditionally, villages around Baku and the Lankaran region are considered Shia strongholds. In contrast, Sunni Islam is dominant in the northern regions.