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F
iqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is a section of Islamic law
which deals with acts of Muslims, that includes both worship
and daily life actions. Fiqh is often described as the human
understanding of the sharia, that is human understanding of the
divine Islamic law as revealed in the Quran and the Sunnah (the
teachings and practices of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and His
companions).

Fiqh expands and develop Shariah through interpretation (ijtihad) of

the Quran and Sunnah by Islamic jurists (ulama) and is implemented
by the rulings (fatwa) of jurists on questions presented to them.

Fiqh deals with the observance of rituals, morals and social

legislation in Islam as well as political system. A person trained in
qh is known as a faqīh (plural fuqaha).

The sources of qh in order of importance are:

1. The Quran
2. Hadiths
3. Ijma
i.e. collective reasoning and consensus amongst authoritative
Muslims of a particular generation, and its interpretation
Islamic scholars.
4. Qiyas
i.e. analogy which is deployed if Ijma or historic collective
reasoning on the issue is not available.

DICTIONARY OF FIQH TERMS | PAGE 01

 DEFINITION OF SOME FIQH TERMS:

Batil: is an Arabic word meaning falsehood, and can be used to

describe a nullied or invalid act or contract according to the
sharia.

Bidia: In Islam, it refers to innovation in religious matters. Bidah

denotes any newly invented matter that is without precedent
and is in opposition to the Quran and Sunnah.
Scholars generally have divided bidah into two types:
innovations in worldly matters and innovations in religious
matters.

Baligh: refers to someone who has reached maturity or puberty, and has
full responsibility under Islamic Law.

Diyah: In Islām, it is the traditional compensation due for the shedding

of blood. It is the nancial compensation paid to the victim or
heirs of a victim in the cases of murder, bodily harm or property
damage. It only applies when victim's family want to
compromise with the guilty party; otherwise qisas applies.

Fahisha: It is an arabic word, commonly means lewdness and indecency.

It is an important term in Islamic Terminology. The opposite of
fahisha is haya.

DICTIONARY OF FIQH TERMS | PAGE 02

Faqih: A faqīh is an Islamic jurist, an expert in qh, or Islamic
Jurisprudence and Islamic Law.

Fasiq: It is an arabic term referring to someone who violates Islamic

Law. As a fasiq is considered unreliable, his testimony is not
accepted in Islamic courts.

Fard: Fard in Islam is a religious duty commanded by Allah. Muslims

who obey such commands or duties receive hasanat, ajr or
thwab each time for each good deed.

Fasad: It is an Arabic word meaning rottenness, corruption, or

depravity. In an Islamic context it can refer to spreading
corruption on Earth or spreading mischief in a Muslim land,
moral corruption against Allah, or disturbance of the public
peace.

Fatwa: It is a non-binding legal opinion on a point of Islamic Law

(sharia) given by a qualied jurist in response to a question
posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist
issuing fatwa is called a mufti, and the act of issuing fatwas is
called iftā. Fatwas have played an important role throughout
Islamic history, taking on new forms in the modern era.

Fitnah: (”temptation, trial; sedition, civil strife, conict”) is an Arabic

word with extensive connotation of trial, afiction, or distress.

Furu A branch of Fiqh that deals with the elaboration of rulings

al-qh: which govern ritual and social activities.

DICTIONARY OF FIQH TERMS | PAGE 03

Hadiths: It refers to the record of the words, actions, and the silent
approval of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Hadith is “the
backbone” of Islamic civilization, and within the religion, the
authority of hadith as a source for religious law and moral
guidance ranks second only to that of the Quran.

Halal: is an Arabic word that translates to “permissible or lawful” into

English. In the Quran, the word halal is contrasted with haram
(forbidden).

Haram: is an Arabic term meaning forbidden. This may refer to: either
something sacred to which access is forbidden to the people
who are not in a state of purity or who are not initiated into the
sacred knowledge, or, in direct contrast, to an evil and thus
“sinful action that is forbidden to be done”.

Haya: (bashfulness, decency, difdence, honor, humility, inhibition,

modesty, self-respect, shame, shyness, timidity). It is an Arabic
word that means “natural or inherent, shyness and a sense of
modesty”. In Islamic Terminology, it is mainly used in the
context of modesty.

Hukm: (plural ahkam) is an Islamic term with several meanings. In the

Quran, the word hukm is variously used to mean arbitration,
judgement, authority, or Allah’s will. In the early Islamic
period, the Kharijites gave it political connotations by declaring
that they accept only the hukm of Allah(ِ ّ ‫)ﺣﻛم‬. ُْ ُ The word
acquired new meanings in the course of Islamic history, being
used to refer to worldly executive power or to a court decision.

DICTIONARY OF FIQH TERMS | PAGE 04

 In the plural, ahkam, it commonly refers to specic Quranic
rules, or to the legal rulings derived using the methodology of
qh.

Ibadah: Worship, obedience, submission and devotion to Allah.

Ijma: is an Arabic term referring to the consensus or agreement of

Islamic scholars on a point of Islamic Law. Various schools of
thought within Islamic jurisprudence may dene this
consensus to be that of the rst generation only; or the
consensus of the rst three generations of Muslims; the
consensus of the jurists and scholars of the Muslim world, or
scholarly consensus; or the consensus of all the Muslim world,
both scholars and laymen. Sunni Muslims regard ijmā' as the
third fundamental source of Sharia Law, after the Qur’an, and
the Sunnah. The opposite of ijma (i.e., lack of consensus on a
point of Islamic law) is called ikhtilaf.

Ijtihad: It is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning or

the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in nding a
solution to a legal question.

Ikhtilaf: (‘disagreement, difference’) is an Islamic scholarly religious

disagreement, and is hence the opposite of ijma.

Ijazah: ("permission", "authorization", "license"; plural: ijazahs or

ijazat) is a license authorizing its holder to transmit a certain text
or subject, which is issued by someone already possessing such
authority. It is particularly associated with transmission of

DICTIONARY OF FIQH TERMS | PAGE 05

 Islamic Religious Knowledge. The license usually implies that
the student has acquired this knowledge from the issuer of the
ijaza through rst-hand oral instruction, although this
requirement came to be relaxed over time. An ijaza providing a
chain of authorized transmitters going back to the original
author often accompanied texts of hadith, qh and tafsir.

Isnaad: The chains of Hadiths narrations specifying the chain of human

reporters from the time of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) that
authenticates the legitimacy of a hadith.

Istihlal: is a term used in Islamic Jurisprudence, or qh, to refer to the act

of regarding some action as permissible, or halaal, although it is
haraam; the implication is that such a regard is an erroneous
and improper distortion of Islamic Law.

Istihsan: is an Arabic term for juristic discretion. In its literal sense it

means "to consider something good". Muslim scholars may use
it to express their preference for particular judgements in
Islamic Law over other possibilities. It is one of the principles of
legal thought underlying scholarly interpretation or ijtihad.

Istihab: means the belief that the past or present matter must be
assumed to remain as it is in the present or future. i.e The
judgement on a matter, positive or negative continues until
there is evidence of a change of state.

Istishhad: is the arabic word for “matrydom”, "death of a martyr", or

"heroic death".

DICTIONARY OF FIQH TERMS | PAGE 06

 Jihad: is an arabic word which literally means striving or struggling,
especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can
refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life
conform with Allah's guidance, such as struggle against one's
evil inclinations, proselytizing, or efforts toward the moral
betterment of the ummah.

Qadi: Is the magistrate or judge of a Sharia court, who also exercises

extrajudicial functions, such as mediation, guardianship over
orphans and minors, and supervision and auditing of public
works.

Qiyas: Is the process of deductive analogy in which the teachings of the

hadith are compared and contrasted with those of the Qur’an, in
order to apply a known injunction (nass) to a new circumstance
and create a new injunction. Here the ruling of the Sunnah and
the Qur'an may be used as a means to solve or provide a
response to a new problem that may arise.

Quran: Is the religious text of Islam, a revelation from Allah.

Madh’hab: A school of thought within qh.

The major Sunni madhhabs are Hana, Maliki, Sha'i and
Hanbali.

Makruh: In Islamic terminology, something which is makruh is a

disliked or offensive act (literally “detestable or "abominable").
This is one of the ve categories (al-ahkam al-khamsa) in
Islamic law – wajib/fard (obligatory), Mustahabb/mandub

DICTIONARY OF FIQH TERMS | PAGE 07

 (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.

Mandub: is an Arabic word meaning "permitted" It refers to an action

that is not mandatory, recommended, reprehensible or
forbidden.

Mu’amalaat: Islamic jurisprudence of transactions and the principles upon

which Islamic nance is based.

Mubah: (neutral, merely permitted). It refers to an action that is not

mandatory, recommended, reprehensible or forbidden. In
Islamic property law, the term mubah refers to things which
have no owner.

Muhaddith: The term muhaddith (plural muhaddithūn often translated as

"traditionist") refers to a specialist who profoundly knows and
narrates hadith, the chains of their narration (isnad), and the
original and famous narrators.

Mujtahid: An individual who exercises ijtihad.

Mustahabb: Mustahabb ( 'beloved thing') is an Islamic term referring to

recommended, favoured or virtuous actions. Mustahabb

DICTIONARY OF FIQH TERMS | PAGE 08

 actions are those whose ruling (ahkam) in Islamic law falls
between mubah (neutral; neither encouraged nor discouraged)
and wajib (compulsory). One denition is "duties
recommended, but not essential; fullment of which is
rewarded, though they may be neglected without punishment"

Mutawilli: The trustee of a waqf.

Sabab: (Reason or Cause)

Sahabah: meaning “the companions”, from the verb ‫ﺻﺣب‬َ ِ َ meaning

“accompany”, “keep company with”, “associate with”) were
the disciples and followers of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who
“saw or met the prophet during his lifetime and were physically
in his presence”.

Sahih: It is an Arabic word that means genuine, authentic, sound and

correct. It is used in classication of a hadith and is the highest
level of authenticity given to a narration.

Salaf: (“ancestors” or “predecessors”), also often referred to with the

honoric expression of “al-salaf al-sālih” (“the pious
predecessors”) are often taken to be the rst three generations of
Muslims, that is the generations of the ( Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh) and his companions (the Sahabah), their successors (the
“Tabi’un), and the successors of the successors (the “'Taba
Tabi’in).

DICTIONARY OF FIQH TERMS | PAGE 09

 Sharia: means Islamic law, it is a religious law forming part of the
Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of
Islam, particularly the Quran and the hadith. In arabic, the term
sharīah refers to Allah's immutable divine law and is contrasted
with qh, which refers to its human scholarly interpretations.

Shia: Shia Islam or Shi'ism is one of the two main branches of Islam. It
holds that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) designated Ali ibn
Abi Talib as his successor and the Imam (leader) after him, most
notably at the event of Ghadir Khumm, but was prevented from
the caliphate as a result of the incident of Saqifah. This view
primarily contrasts with that of Sunni Islam, whose adherents
believe that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did not appoint a
successor and consider Abu Bakr , who was appointed caliph by
a group of Muslims at Saqifah, to be the rst rightful caliph after
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). A person observing Shia Islam is
called a Shi'i.

Sunnah: The traditions and practices of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh),

that constitute a model for Muslims to follow.

Sunni: It is the largest denomination of Islam , followed by 87–90% of

the Muslims, albeit according to the Quran and authentic
Hadith, there are no denomination in Islam, characterized by a
greater emphasis upon the traditions of Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh) and his companions. Its name comes from the word
Sunnah, referring to the deeds and actions of Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh).

DICTIONARY OF FIQH TERMS | PAGE 10

Tabi’un: “followers” or “successors”, are the generation of Muslims who
followed the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
(sahābah), and thus received their teachings secondhand. A tābi'
knew at least one sahābiyy. As such, they played an important
part in the development of Islamic thought and philosophy,
and in the political development of the early caliphate.

Tabi’al- is the generation after the Tabiun in Islam. Sunni Muslims

Tabi’in: include them among the best generations on Earth, along with
the Tabi’un and the Sahabah.

Tafsir: Tafsir refers to exegesis , usually of the Quran. An author of a

tafsir is a mufassir. A Quranic tafsir attempts to provide
elucidation, explanation, interpretation, context or
commentary for clear understanding and conviction of Allah's
will.

Taghut: It is an Islamic terminology denoting a focus of worship other

than Allah. In traditional theology, the term often connotes
idols or demons drawn to blood of pagan sacrices. In modern
times, the term is also applied to earthly tyrannical power, as
implied in Surah Nisa verse 60. The modern Islamic
philosopher Abul A’la Maududi denes taghut in his Qur’anic
commentary as a creature who not only rebels against Allah but
transgresses His will.

Taqlid: Is an Islamic terminology denoting the conformity of one

person to the teaching of another.

DICTIONARY OF FIQH TERMS | PAGE 11

Tawbah: It is the concept of repenting to Allah due to performing any sins
and misdeeds. It is a direct matter between a person and Allah,
so there is no intercession. It is the act of leaving what Allah has
prohibited and returning to what he has commanded. The word
denotes the act of being repentant for one’s misdeeds, atoning
for those misdeeds, and having a strong determination to
forsake those misdeeds (remorse, resolution, and repentance).
If someone sins against another person, restitution is required.

Tazkiah: is an Arabic-Islamic term alluding to “tazkiyah al-nafs”

meaning “sanctication” or “purication of the self”. This
refers to the process of transforming the nafs (carnal self or
desires) from its deplorable state of self-centrality through
various spiritual stages towards the level of purity and
submission to the Will of Allah. It's basis is in learning the
shariah and deeds from the known authentic sunnah and
applying it in your own deeds through life resulting in spiritual
awareness of Allah (being constantly aware that He is with us
by His knowledge and knows all that we do, along with being in
constant remembrance or dhikr of Him in your thoughts and
actions) being the highest level of Ihsan. The person who
puries himself/herself is called a Zaki.

Thawab: It is an Arabic term meaning "reward". Specically, in the

context of an Islamic world view, thawab refers to spiritual
merit or reward that accrues from the performance of good
deeds and piety.

DICTIONARY OF FIQH TERMS | PAGE 12

Ulama: Literally “the learned ones”, also spelled ulema; feminine:
alimah [singular] and uluma [plural]) are the guardians,
transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam,
including Islamic doctrine and law.

Urf: It 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 qh. 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.

Usul principles of Islamic jurisprudence are traditional

al-qh: methodological principles used in (qh) for deriving the rulings
of Islamic law (sharia).

Wadia: A contract of safekeeping under Sharia law. A depositor places

property with another party for safekeeping.

Wajib: What is required, a religious duty that Muslims are obliged to

do.

Waqf: Is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It

typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other
assets for Muslim religious or charitable purposes with no
intention of reclaiming the assets. A charitable trust may hold
the donated assets. The person making such dedication is
known as a waqif (donor).
DICTIONARY OF FIQH TERMS | PAGE 13