Madhhab (School of Law)
An Islamic school of law with its own methodology for legal derivation from the sacred sources.
Madhhab (plural: madhahib) literally means "way" or "direction" and refers to an Islamic school of law with its own systematic methodology for deriving legal rules from the Quran and Sunnah. In Sunni Islam, there are four recognized schools of law: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali.
Each madhhab has its own approach to prayer with characteristic differences in details: the placement of the hands (qabd vs. irsal), recitation of Bismillah (aloud or silently), saying "Amin" (aloud or silently), calculation of Asr time, and the number of rak'ah in certain voluntary prayers.
The four imams deeply respected each other despite their differences. Imam Abu Hanifah said: "When a hadith is authentic, it is my madhhab." Imam al-Shafi'i said: "If you find an authentic hadith that contradicts my statement, then know that my statement is that hadith." And Imam Ahmad said: "Do not follow me blindly — take from the sources they took from." This humility illustrates the flexibility of the schools of law.
Related terms
Salat al-Mayyit (Funeral Prayer)
The prayer for the deceased, performed before the burial.
Qiyas (Analogical Reasoning)
Legal analogy used to derive Islamic rules for new situations based on established rules.
Salaf (The Pious Predecessors)
The first three generations of Muslims: sahabah, tabi'in, and tabi' al-tabi'in.
Salat al-Qada (Makeup Prayer)
Prayers that are made up after their time has expired.
Ashura (The Tenth of Muharram)
The tenth day of Muharram, the commemoration of Imam Husayn's martyrdom.
Du'a al-Qunut (The Qunut Supplication in Witr)
The special supplication recited during the last rak'ah of the Witr prayer.