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The practice of the people of Medina ('amal ahl al-Madina) as evidence

عَمَلُ أَهْلِ الْمَدِينَة

Jurists use the phrase 'practice of the people of Medina' for what the people of Medina agreed upon as a practice in the first three centuries, which the Prophet ﷺ called the best, and which they inherited 1. The majority hold that the agreement of the people of Medina on a practice is not binding on those who disagree; Malik held it binding on others, and it is reported that he meant that their transmission should be preferred 1. The full treatment is in the legal-theory appendix 1.

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The Prophetic Era
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Global / Diaspora
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Development of law, theology and institutionsEthics and character

Summary

Jurists use the phrase 'practice of the people of Medina' for what the people of Medina agreed upon as a practice in the first three centuries, which the Prophet called the best, and which they inherited 1. The majority hold that the agreement of the people of Medina on a practice is not binding on those who disagree; Malik held it binding on others, and it is reported that he meant that their transmission should be preferred 1. The full treatment is in the legal-theory appendix 1.

People and things also explored

Biting and the liability for injury it causes (add)· Pardon (afw) in purity, worship, contracts and penalties· Covenant (ahd) and the duty to keep it; oath by the covenant of God· Action (amal) and the five rulings that govern it· Warranty (uhda) in sale and in pre-emption, and the defect· Ada' al-dayn (paying a debt: its ruling, the manner of payment, insolvency and the debts of the dead)· Ada' al-shahada (performing testimony: the duty on request, the excused witness, and the wording)· Manners of the Qur'an bearer

Sources

  1. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11840
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The practice of the people of Medina ('amal ahl al-Madina) as evidence”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/amal-ahl-madina/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words. Related

Biting and the liability for injury it causes (add)

In the lexicon, add is gripping a thing with the teeth and holding it. If a person bites another without right and a wound results, the biter must pay the damages for the wound, assessed as a just award by experts. If one man bites another's hand and the bitten man pulls it free so that the biter's front teeth fall out, most jurists hold that there is no liability, relying on a prophetic judgement in such a case; the Shafi'is limit this to a bitten man who chose the easiest means of release, and the preferred Maliki view requires compensation.