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Abū Ḥanīfaẗ al-Nuʿmān ibn Muḥammad ibn Manṣūr al-Tamīmī is said to have been born in Qayrawān (Kairouan); he died in Al-Qāhiraẗ (Cairo). He was an Ismāʿīlī jurist, judge and preacher. Scholars are divided as to which rite he belonged to before he converted to the Ismāʿīlī rite, but he may have inherited it from his father. From the year 313/925 and throughout the reign of the four Fatimid caliphs who ruled Ifrīqiyyaẗ, he held various positions, including that of judge in Tripoli. He was later summoned by Caliph Al-Mansūr to the position of Grand Cadi, “judge of judges”, for the whole of Ifrīqiyyaẗ. He also entrusted him with the maẓālem (the examination of abusive acts), in addition to his role as official preacher for the Fatimids. It was he who laid the foundations of Ismaili fiqh (jurisprudence) in Ifrīqiyyaẗ and it was he who wrote its provisions and made them accessible to all. He is also the theorist of the Ismaili doctrine. His ideas are recorded in more than forty books of various kinds, many of which have been published, including the one on the disagreements between the different legal schools.

This book was composed by al-Nuʿmān in Ifrīqiyyaẗ after the year 343/954. It is one of the works that respond to “those who are in disagreement” (Muslims other than Ismailis). He composed it in response to a Sunni or perhaps a Hanafi with whom he disagreed on the issue of ijtihad [diligence] and the principles of fiqh. This work also belongs to the category of books on the principles of fiqh. Al-Nuʿmān had begun to write books on the science of hadīṯ (the sayings of the Prophet); thus, he wrote during the reign of Mahdī the book entitled îdhah (clarification) in which he relied on the sayings of the Prophet and the sayings and other narratives collected from the Ismāʿīlī imams, which paved the way towards defining the principles of fiqh. It was then that the book on the disagreements between the legal schools appeared.

The book consists of twelve chapters as well as a preface and a conclusion. In the preface, Al-Nuʿmān reviews the outline of his book while emphasizing his intention to be concise and to limit himself to essential aspects. He argues that “the people of the Qiblaẗ” (Muslims) disagree on many ancillary issues and on some of the principles of fiqh, despite their agreement on what is apparent in the text of the Qurʾān and on the truthfulness of the Prophet. He then moves on to the causes of this disagreement, which, he argues, are essentially related to the Sunni jurists' refusal to see the truth and their submission to the Umayyads and Abbasids, who made a pact with the faqīh. While the latter had full control over religious affairs, the caliphs were free to rule alone, as despots, according to their whims. This was at the expense of the Ahl-al-haqq (people of truth), i.e. Allāh's favorites, the Ismāʿīlī imams.

According to Al-Nuʿmān, the principles of fiqh are supported by three pillars, namely: the Qur'an, the sayings of the Prophet, the opinions of the Imams from the Prophet's family [ahl al-bayt], to which should be added the opinion of the Imam in power. This is different from the Sunnis who rely on l’iǧtihād(diligence), qiyās (analogy), l’istiḥsān (principle of preference), l’iǧmāʿ (consensus), plus taqlīd (emulation) and l’istidlāl (argumentation)à for the formulation of legal provisions.

Al-Nuʿmān analyses each of these Sunni principles, responds to their proponents and then refutes them. Allāh has not commanded us to follow these principles, all the more so that the Imam in power is in place, he who inherited his knowledge from ahl al-bayt and thus from the Prophet himself. Therefore he, not the faqīhs, has precedence in pronouncements regarding religious matters. Al-Nuʿmān justifies this view by invoking several verses of the Qur'an and hadīṯs, some of which hold that ʿAlī ibn Abī Tâlib is, among all the companions of the Prophet, the most knowledgeable in legal matters.

The book on the disagreements between the legal schools is of particular importance as it sheds light on the principles of fiqh among the Ismailis and also indirectly gives us an idea of the emergence of this science among the Sunnī of Ifrīqiyyaẗ. This book was held in such high esteem by the Ismāʿīlī imāms that they awarded prizes of great value to those who learned it by heart. Similarly, the sons and grandsons of Al-Nuʿmān used to read it to the public in mosques.