Islamic jurisprudence in the context of "Islamic–Jewish relations"

Ibn Rushd (14 April 1126 – 11 December 1198), Latinized as Averroes, was an Andalusian polymath and jurist who was proficient in a variety of intellectual fields, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astronomy, physics, psychology, mathematics, neurology, Islamic jurisprudence and law, and linguistics. The author of more than 100 books and treatises, his philosophical works include numerous commentaries on Aristotle, for which he was known in the Western world as "The Commentator" and "Father of Rationalism".

Averroes was a strong proponent of Aristotelianism; he attempted to restore what he considered the original teachings of Aristotle and opposed the Neoplatonist tendencies of earlier Muslim thinkers, such as al-Farabi and Avicenna. He also defended the pursuit of philosophy against criticism by Ash'ari theologians such as Al-Ghazali. Averroes argued that philosophy was permissible in Islam and even compulsory among certain elites. He also argued scriptural text should be interpreted allegorically if it appeared to contradict conclusions reached by reason and philosophy. In Islamic jurisprudence, he wrote the Bidāyat al-Mujtahid on the differences between Islamic schools of law and the principles that caused their differences. In medicine, he proposed a new theory of stroke, described the signs and symptoms of Parkinson's disease for the first time, and might have been the first to identify the retina as the part of the eye responsible for sensing light. His medical book Al-Kulliyat fi al-Tibb, translated into Latin and known as the Colliget, became a textbook in Europe for centuries.

The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the largest school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four principal schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (c. 699–767 CE), who systemised the use of reasoning (ra'y). Hanafi legal theory primarily derives law from the Quran, the sayings and practices of Muhammad (sunnah), scholarly consensus (ijma) and analogical reasoning (qiyas), but also considers juristic discretion (istihsan) and local customs (urf). It is distinctive in its greater usage of qiyas than other schools.

The school spread throughout the Muslim world under the patronage of various Islamic empires, including the Abbasids and Seljuks. The region of Transoxiana emerged as a centre of classical Hanafi scholarship between the 10th and 12th centuries, which gave rise to the Maturidi school of theology. The Ottoman Empire adopted Hanafism as its official school of law and influenced the legal thought of the school, eventually codifying it as the Mecelle in the 1870s.

The Hanbali school or Hanbalism is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence, belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It is named after and based on the teachings of the 9th-century scholar, jurist and traditionist, Ahmad ibn Hanbal (c. 780–855 CE), and later institutionalized by his students. One who subscribes to the Hanbali school is called a Hanbali (Arabic: ٱلْحَنْبَلِيّ, romanized: al-ḥanbalī, pl. ٱلْحَنْبَلِيَّة, al-ḥanbaliyya, or ٱلْحَنَابِلَة, al-ḥanābila). It mostly adheres to the Athari school of theology and is the smallest out of the four major Sunni schools, the others being the Hanafi, Maliki and Shafi'i schools.

Like the other Sunni schools, it primarily derives sharia from the Quran, hadith and views of Muhammad's companions. In cases where there is no clear answer in the sacred texts of Islam, the Hanbali school does not accept juristic discretion or customs of a community as sound bases to derive Islamic law on their own—methods that the Hanafi and Maliki schools accept. Hanbalis are the majority in Saudi Arabia and Qatar where the Salafi movement has grown. As such, Hanbalis form barely 5% of the Sunni Muslim population worldwide.

Hoarding in economics refers to the concept of purchasing and storing a large amount of a particular product, creating scarcity of that product, and ultimately driving the price of that product up. Commonly hoarded products include assets such as money, gold and public securities, as well as vital goods such as fuel and medicine. Consumers are primarily hoarding resources so that they can maintain their current consumption rate in the event of a shortage (real or perceived). Hoarding resources can prevent or slow products or commodities from traveling through the economy. Subsequently, this may cause the product or commodity to become scarce, causing the value of the resource to rise.

A common intention of economic hoarding is to generate a profit by selling the product once the price has increased. Hence, economic speculators tend to hoard products that are inelastic in price so that when the price of the product does increase, the demand for that product is maintained. Unlike investing, hoarded goods are excluded from an economy's flow of money and purchasing goods for hoarding generally occurs in markets operating under a non-competitive structure. The practice of hoarding can have varied effects in the economy and is legal in most cases, however price controls and other regulatory laws are often enforced to prevent negative market implications. Under Islamic jurisprudence, intentional acts of economic hoarding are regarded as highly sinful and unlawful.

Salah (Arabic: ٱلصَّلَاةُ, romanized: aṣ-Ṣalāh, also spelled Salat), also known as Namaz (Persian: نماز, romanized: namāz), is the practice of formal worship in Islam, consisting of a series of ritual prayers performed at prescribed times daily. These prayers, which consist of units known as rak'ah, include a specific set of physical postures, recitation from the Quran, and prayers from the Sunnah, and are performed while facing the direction towards the Kaaba in Mecca (qibla). The number of rak'ah varies depending on the specific prayer. Variations in practice are observed among adherents of different madhahib (schools of Islamic jurisprudence). The term salah may denote worship in general or specifically refer to the obligatory prayers performed by Muslims five times daily, or, in some traditions, three times daily.

The obligatory prayers play an integral role in the Islamic faith, and are regarded as the second and most important, after shahadah, of the Five Pillars of Islam for Sunnis, and one of the Ancillaries of the Faith for Shiites. In addition, supererogatory salah, such as Sunnah prayer and Nafl prayer, may be performed at any time, subject to certain restrictions. Wudu, an act of ritual purification, is required prior to performing salah. Prayers may be conducted individually or in congregation, with certain prayers, such as the Friday and Eid prayers, requiring a collective setting and a khutbah (sermon). Some concessions are made for Muslims who are physically unable to perform the salah in its original form, or are travelling.

In Islamic terminology, something which is makruh or makrooh (Arabic: مكروه, transliterated: makrooh or makrūh) is "discouraged". This is one of the five categories (al-ahkam al-khamsa) in Islamic law – wajib/fard (obligatory), Mustahabb/mandub (recommended), mubah (neutral), makruh (disapproved), haram (forbidden).

Though a makruh act is not haram (forbidden) or subject to punishment, a person who abstains from this act will be rewarded. Muslims are encouraged to avoid such actions when or as possible. It is one of the degrees of approval (ahkam) in Islamic law. In the terminology of Islamic jurisprudence, "Makruh" refers to an action that is not forbidden to do, but had better to be abandoned.

Taqlid (Arabic: تقليد, romanized: Taqlīd) is a term used in Islamic jurisprudence to denote the conformity of one person to the teaching of another. As such, the person who performs taqlid is termed muqallid. The definite meaning of the term varies depending on context and age. Classical usage of the term differs between Sunni Islam and Shia Islam. Sunni Islamic usage designates the unjustified conformity of one person to the teaching of another, rather than the justified conformity of a layperson to the teaching of a mujtahid (a person who is qualified for independent reasoning). Shia Islamic usage designates general conformity to the teaching of a mujtahid, and there is no negative connotation. The discrepancy corresponds to differing views on the Shia Imamate and Sunni imams.

In contemporary Salafi usage, taqlid is often portrayed in a negative light and translated as "blind imitation". This refers to the perceived stagnation of independent effort (ijtihad) and uncritical imitation of traditional religious interpretation by the religious establishment in general.

Abu Hanifa (5 September 699 CE – 18 June 767 CE) was a Muslim scholar, ascetic and eponym of the Hanafi school of Sunni jurisprudence, which is by far the most widely followed in the modern day. His school predominates in Central Asia, Turkey, the Levant, Egypt, Russia, the Balkans and the Indian subcontinent.

He is best known for favoring the use of reason in his jurisprudential rulings, and even in his theology. He was named by al-Dhahabi as "one of the geniuses of the sons of Adam" who "combined jurisprudence, worship, scrupulousness, and generosity". In his lifetime, he was enormously popular among the massive slave underclass in Kufa, but made many enemies among Arabist traditionalists, especially for his promotion of reason over hadith and his ruling that Persian could be used in prayer.