mezhebe

Mezhep, in Islamic context, refers to a school of jurisprudence or a doctrinal tradition that interprets and applies Islamic law. In Arabic, madhhab means a path or method; in Turkish, mezhep denotes a school of law or a sect. Historically, Sunni Islam developed several legal schools during the 8th to 10th centuries as jurists sought systematic methods for deriving rulings from the Quran and the Sunnah. The core sources of a mezhep are the Quran, the Prophetic traditions (Sunnah), consensus (ijma), and analogical reasoning (qiyas), with juristic preference (istihsan) and local customs sometimes considered. Each school also has its preferred methods for evaluating hadith and differing practical rulings on ritual, worship, finance, and social affairs.

The four principal Sunni madhhabs are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali, founded by Abu Hanifa, Malik ibn Anas, al-Shafi'i, and Ahmad ibn Hanbal, respectively. They became influential across different regions—Hanafi in much of South Asia and the Ottoman world; Maliki in North Africa; Shafi'i in East Africa and parts of Asia; Hanbali in the Arabian Peninsula. In Shia Islam, the Ja'fari (or Ithna 'Ashari) school serves as the main jurisprudential tradition, with its own principles and sources.

Today, mezhep identity remains significant for ceremonial practice and personal conduct in many communities, even as modern legal systems and global scholarship encourage flexibility and cross-study. Some observers use mezhep to describe a religious “sect,” while others emphasize jurisprudential diversity within a shared framework of Islamic law.