A ( , , "doctrine"; pl. , ; Turkish: mezheb; Urdu: مذہب ) is a school of thought within fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). In the first 150 years of Islam, there were numerous madhāhib; several of the companions of Prophet Muhammad are credited with founding their own. As a matter of fact, there were as many mazhabs as there were companions. Over the centuries, mazhabs have variously grown, spread, split, and been absorbed; at one time, there were 130 schools. Most have become obsolete. Traditionally there has been four mazhabs followed by the majority of Muslims throughout Islamic history. As of the Amman Message, eight are officially acknowledged by the leaders of the international Muslim community - five Sunni schools (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali and the reintroduced Zahiri), two Shia schools (Ja'fari, Zaidi), and the Ibadi school.