Urf

Urf (العرف) is an Arabic Islamic term referring to the custom, or 'knowledge', of a given society. To be recognized in an Islamic society, Urf must be compatible with the Sharia law. When applied, it can lead to the deprecation or inoperability of a certain aspect of fiqh فقه (Islamic jurisprudence).

`Urf is a source of rulings where there are not explicit primary texts of the Qur'an and Sunnah specifying the ruling. `Urf can also specify something generally established in the primary texts.

In some countries such as Egypt, marriage, the Urfi way, means to get married without official papers issued by the state (Zawag Urfi:زواج عرفي). This type of marriage is valid and recognized; see: common law marriage.