A Survey on the time and history of restricting denominations in four

Lack of norm and arbitrary use of ijtihad among Sunni scholars along with other causes led to many jurisprudential denominations and opinions. Among 138 jurisprudential denominations present in the second and third centuries after Hijra followed by people, only four including Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi`i and Hanbali were formally accepted, the others were soon left. The period in which such an event happened, however, is not exactly clear and, therefore, it has been viewed by historians differently from third to seventh century. This paper, having sought to survey different views, has preferred the view knowing it to be seventh century.