Islam: Chapter Three: The Law: Fiqh, Sharī‘a: 1. ‘Ibādāt

This is an excerpt from a medieval Islamic legal manual (*fiqh*), drawing primarily from Ibn Qudāma's *Kitāb al-'Umda* (12th–13th century Hanbali school) and Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani's *Risāla* (10th century Maliki school), presented as a comparative survey of classical Islamic jurisprudence. The text systematically details the rules of ritual purity (*tahāra*): what constitutes pure and impure water, which vessels may be used, the specific steps for minor ablution (*wuḍū'*) and full-body washing (*ghusl*), and the sand-substitution (*tayammum*) permitted when water is unavailable. It then turns to ritual prayer (*ṣalāt*), covering obligatory times for the five daily prayers and precise physical instructions for their performance. A recurring and distinctive feature is the notation of disagreements between legal schools — the Hanbali, Maliki, and others — on specific rulings (e.g., prayer times, which acts annul ablution, whether the *imām* should say "Amen" aloud), presenting Islamic law as a tradition of structured scholarly dispute rather than monolithic doctrine. The introductory framing characterizes the Hanbali school as the strictest, defined by its rejection of reason in favor of Qur'an and Hadith, and notes its modern concentration in Saudi Arabia where it remains officially practiced. Readers interested in the practical mechanics and internal diversity of classical Islamic ritual law will find this a concrete, source-based introduction.

Islam: Chapter Three: The Law: Fiqh, Sharī‘a: 1. ‘Ibādāt

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