ABSTRACT
There are some of the metaphors used by Muslim authors to explain the phenomenon of ikhtilaf, or diversity of doctrine, in Sharia law. The various schools of law, in which such diversity of doctrine was crystallised, are seen as different but inseparable aspects of the same unity. Traditions are often the expression of ethical norms rather than of strictly legal rules, and the moralistic approach to law is at its most extreme among those who regard the Traditions as the supreme guide to conduct. Not surprisingly, therefore, it is the Hanbalis who go further than any other school in attempting to integrate the twin strands of law and morality in the Sharia. The Hanbali school never succeeded in gaining any real territorial dominion until its tenets were adopted by the Wahhabi movement in the eighteenth century, so that the Hanbali school is the official law of Saudi Arabia.
