⌘ K
In plain terms
Madhhab
Checking for an Arabic voice…
The dh is the voiced th in “this,” followed by a separate h.
Source entry · Editorial review pending ↗
A madhhab is an established school of Islamic legal thought, built on a shared method for deriving rulings. The four Sunni schools in wide use today are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali. Two madhhabs can reach different conclusions from the same sources.
Learn this word in context.
Related terms
Fiqh
Fiqh is the human effort to understand and apply Islamic law. It works out everyday practice — prayer, transactions, family life — from the Qur'an, hadith, and scholarly…
Ijtihad
Ijtihad is the disciplined effort a qualified scholar makes to work out a ruling. It applies when a question isn't answered directly by the Qur'an or sunnah. Later scholars can…
Qiyas
Qiyas is analogical reasoning: extending a known ruling to a new case that shares its underlying reason. It is one of the tools scholars use in ijtihad. Two scholars can identify…