المعنى الاصطلاحي :

A joint partnership between two individuals in which one offers capital while the other offers work on the condition that the profit is shared between them according to their agreement.

الشرح المختصر :

"Mudārabah" is one of the kinds of partnership contracts. It means that someone gives his money to another to trade in it on his behalf on the condition that the latter receives a pre-established portion of the profit, like a half or a third, while loss is incurred by the investor alone. The investor is called "rabb al-māl", and the worker is called "mudārib". "Mudārabah" has two sub-divisions: 1. Unrestricted: it is that which is not restricted to a certain time, place, specific kind of trade, or a specific buyer or seller. 2. Restricted: it is that which is restricted to a certain place, time, activity, etc. It is called "mudārabah" because the worker deserves a portion of the profit based on his endeavors and effort, or because both partners put forth their respective input and eventually earn a profit.

التعريف اللغوي المختصر :

"Mudārabah": beating taking place between two persons, each one against the other. Derived from "darb", which means to hit a target, endeavor, work, and move; original meaning: to drop something on another strongly. Other meanings: specification, designation, obligation, departing, restrain.