Brief notes:

 

ISLAMIC LEGAL VOCABULARY

Muhammad Khalid Masud (Ebrahim Moosa)

 

Legal vocabulary

Literal Meaning

Joseph Schacht: An Introduction to Islamic Law

ILT Notes

`adl

 

Straightness,

impartiality

 

Of good

character

 

In a general sense, ‘adl refers to ‘justice’ and ‘fairness’ and impartiality. Islamic law requires a witness in the court to be ‘adl, to be just and impartial. The criteria for impartiality are defined often in terms of good character and general reputation. Declaring someone to be fit as a witness is called tazkiya al-shuhud. Justice in Islamic legal thinking has been defined in terms of order and hierarchy; focus on fairness and right has been marginal. Modern Muslim thought stresses a wider sense of justice to include notions of social and economic justice

ahliyya

ability

capacity

Legal capacity is enjoyed only by a person who is adult and sane. Adulthood in Islamic law obtains on puberty. In modern times, adulthood is defined more in terms of age than puberty.

Al-ahkam al-khamsa

Five values

The five legal qualifications

These five categories are:

1. Obligatory (wajib/fard),

2. Recommended/ commendable

(mandub/mustahabb)

3. Neutral, Indifferent/permissible

(mubah/ja’iz)

4. Reprehensible/disapproved (makruh),

5. Forbidden (haram, mahzur).

This categorization suggests Muslim jurists’ effort to define the wide range between halal and haram (the lawful and the forbidden), the basic categories used in the Qur’an.

 

 
< Prev   Next >
Developed by Sean Ang and Erfan. © 2008 Sisters in Islam