Practice

With regards to Islamic practice, God determines the parameters of what is good and bad, what is acceptable and unacceptable. The word sharia refers broadly to the divine law that God has mandated.

The concept of fiqh refers to human attempts at discerning the sharia, understanding His commandments and prohibitions such that they may be applied in daily life. This includes the methodology for acts of worship and the codes of conduct for behavior within society.

Practically speaking, four acceptable approaches to religious practice have been reliably transmitted from teacher to student until today. We call these four approaches the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, and Hanbali madhhabs. They operationalize scholarly understanding to determine whether a given action is required, recommended, neutral, disliked, or sinful, and they detail the particulars of religious practice.

The differences between maddhabs do not constitute theological division or disharmony within in the Muslim community, rather they are accepted and legitimate paradigms with which one may approach religious practice.

Refer to the videos and articles available on our introduction to fiqh page to learn more.

For an introductory study of Islamic practice, refer to the book:

• The Absolute Essentials of Islam