Basic differences between the prayer rituals of Hanafî and Shâfiî schools

It is known that Hanafi and Shafi?i schools, two sunni madh?habs of fıqh, which started to get systematized in late third century of Hijri and have been able to remain its domination and become common in many countries, including Turkey, have had disagreements on many issues. Among these, the differences between prayer rituals are remarkable ones.Both two schools, like many others, have been based on two main Islamic sources, Qur?an and Sunnah, and have benefited from many other sources such as ijma (consensus), qiyas (analogical reasoning), istihsan (preference) to explain their thesis with regard to Sharia. The benefited sources and arguments have given rise to various controversial opinions. Because of these controversies, some problems have made themselves felt in Islamic society, and as a result, some divisions, school fanaticism, new developments with varying opinions studying to disprove each other have taken place over time.Although it was not so apparent in the past, Hanafi and Shafi?i difference has now become more evident due to misunderstandings of madh?hab concept. In fact, both doctrines are Sunni schools based on Qur?an and Sunnah and have tried to prove that, the differences are just furuat (secondary details) derived from different understandings of the nass. It is important to realize that these differences are mercy and suit the convenience of the Islamic community. In this study, the main controversial issues of these schools are dealt with and explained comparatively using supporting evidences.