The first two schools were located in Medina and Kufa. The doctrines of each school reflected the social conditions that prevailed in each area. In contrast, the school of Abn Hanifa in Kufa is more liberal than the Maliki school. Qiyas is more important than the sunna. It has been postulated that one of the major reasons for this was that at the time of the emergence of the school, the hadith had still not been finalized.
Personal judgment is the catch phrase of the school, manifested in both ra'y and ijtihad.
Qiyas is merely a development of personal judgment. For the Malakites in Medina, law in Islam was based on the Qur'an and the local consensus of the community as inspired by the traditions of Muhammad. The tradition in question is the living tradition of the scholars in Medina. Never has god done this for any of His creatures save His Apostle. With al-Shafi'i, the definition of sunna changes from the idealized practice preached by scholars representing the different schools of law.