مذهب
Madhab
Pronounced: MADH-hab
A madhab (also written madhhab) is a school of Islamic jurisprudence, or fiqh. The four established Sunni schools are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali. Each has a developed method for understanding the Quran and Sunnah and applying them to questions of worship and daily life. This page introduces those schools; it is not a guide to every Islamic legal tradition.
Why it matters for your worship
School-specific details can change how bleeding and purification are assessed. For example, the cited Hanafi guidance gives a minimum hayd duration of 72 hours, while the Shafi'i guidance gives 24 hours. Neither number is a stand-alone test: menstrual habit, the full bleeding pattern, and intervals of purity also matter. Knowing which guidance you are using helps you ask a clearer question rather than treating every online answer as interchangeable.
Learning a school and asking for a ruling
Learning one school can make everyday worship easier to understand and practise consistently. Shaykh Yusuf Weltch’s linked answer recommends that approach, while noting that scholars differ over whether it is obligatory. Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta distinguishes systematic study from a layperson seeking qualified advice: it does not require following only one school in every matter.
What your school setting in Sila means
Sila uses your selected school and the records you enter to estimate your bleeding and worship status. That setting does not settle a personal religious question or replace a scholar’s assessment. If advice you receive differs from the app, keep your bleeding dates, dry intervals, and previous pattern available when asking for clarification.
Common questions
Which madhab should I follow?
If you are unsure where to begin, ask a qualified teacher who can help you learn the worship rules you need. Shaykh Yusuf Weltch’s cited answer encourages learning one school for clarity and consistency, but does not call it obligatory for every layperson. Your family or community can be a starting point for finding teaching, not a substitute for asking about a difficult case.
What are the four madhabs?
The four established Sunni schools are Hanafi, associated with Imam Abu Hanifa; Maliki, with Imam Malik; Shafi'i, with Imam al-Shafi'i; and Hanbali, with Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal. As Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta explains, generations of scholars developed and documented each school’s rulings and methods. They are traditions of scholarship, not just four lists of different answers.
Can I switch madhabs?
Following another school’s advice is not automatically forbidden. Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta states that a layperson is not bound to one school in every matter. The cited SeekersGuidance answer also explains limits on choosing convenient opinions and combining rulings. Ask a qualified scholar about your circumstances rather than changing an app setting to decide whether a particular act of worship was valid.
Does talfiq mean any use of more than one madhab?
Not in the sense described by the cited SeekersGuidance answer. It distinguishes following different schools in separate matters from combining rulings within one act so that the result is valid under neither school involved. That contradictory combination is the problem it calls talfiq. Applying this distinction to your own worship needs qualified guidance, not a blanket rule that every change of school is prohibited.
Sources and scope
These references explain the guidance summarized here. School-specific answers apply to the circumstances they describe; they are not interchangeable personal rulings. This page is general education, not a fatwa or a medical diagnosis.
- Following a madhab: Egypt's Dar al-Ifta, fatwa 5916
Distinguishes studying a legal school from following scholarly advice in practice, and explains why a layperson is not bound to one school in every matter.
- Madhab consistency and talfiq: Shaykh Yusuf Weltch, SeekersGuidance
Encourages learning one school for clarity and consistency without treating it as universally obligatory; explains contradictory combinations of rulings and when to consult a scholar.
- Hanafi: Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat, SeekersGuidance
Explains the 72-hour minimum, 240-hour maximum, minimum purity interval, and the importance of recording menstrual habit.
- Shafi'i: Shaykh Irshaad Sedick, SeekersGuidance
A worked spotting example citing Minhaj al-Talibin and other school texts; explains duration, purity intervals, and prayer preparation.
Put the terms in context
Prayer and fasting during bleedingSee how the general prayer distinction differs from the school-specific assessment of bleeding.
Sila handles this for you
Stop doing the mental math. Sila helps you track your bleeding, understand your likely worship status, and remember when ghusl may be due. All personalized to your madhab.
