Development of the Sunni Doctrine in Islam.  Ismail Bakar.  1996.  Islamiyat 17

ABSTRACT
It is widely known that the term Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama'ah (Sunni) refers exclusively to a member of Muslim community that appreciated the election of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali as the Rashidun caliphs after the Prophet. The term also does mean to differenciate between the followers of the four major schools of thought (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'e & Hanbali) and the other groups of Muslim such as Syi'ah, Khawarid etc. Therefore, this article attempts to discuss the developments of sunni doctrine during the formative period of Muslim History. The doctrinal differences between various school of thought was due largely to the different understanding of the textual injunction of the Holy Quran. This insimilarity of opinions among the ulama was not considered as a harmful business, but in fact assumed as a rahmah and a part of Islamic Civilization.

ABSTRAK
Sunni atau Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah ialah satu kumpulan umat Islam terbesar di dunia hari ini. Penggunaan istilah Sunni, pada umumnya, adalah untuk membezakan kumpulan ini daripada kumpulan umat Islam yang lain seperti Syiah, Khawarij dan sebagainya. ARtikel ini bertujuan menganalisis sejarah perkembangan doktrin ahl al-sunnah wa al-jama'ah yang diasaskan oleh tokoh-tokoh Sunni dalam zaman awal Islam. Perbezaan doktrin di kalangan umat Islam adalah berpunca daripada perbezaan pandangan dalam memahami teks al-Quran dan al-Sunnah. Sungguhpun begitu, perbezaan ini dianggap sebagai rahmat oleh kebanyakan ulamak kerana ianya berjaya mempertingkatkan kecemerlangan ilmu serta tamadun Islam.

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