Hanafi of Isfahan before Safavid Dynasty; Analyzing the Reasons of Hanafi Development and Their Conflicts with Shafi i and Hanbali

Before Safavid era, Hanafi of Isfahan was one of the main Sunni schools of law in Isfahan. Also before Seljuq dynasty, Hanafi followers were a minority group in society. Having been supported by Seljuq Emperors and commanders, Hanafis find themselves in a strong position, soon they started a rivalry with Shafi’i, and it became one of the main problems in Isfahan through centuries. The present paper is trying to answer the following questions through applying historical method and based on first hand resources: 1. What made the situation prepared for development and growth of Hanafi in Isfahan? 2. What are the reasons and results of the conflicts between Hanafi and Shafi’i? The hypotheses supplied in order to answer the mentioned questions are: - The main reason of the development of Hanafi is the supports from Seljuk Emperors. - The roots of the conflicts between Hanafi and Shafi’i were in political, Social and theological contex; and the main consequent of these conflicts was immediate conversion of people to Shia in early years of Safavid era.