Search

(a.), a financial term referring to a negotiable instrument in the form of a written bill of credit which is similar to the modern drawing of a cheque. The suftad̲j̲a , like the ḥawāla [ q.v.] and the ṣakk , was used in mediaeval Islam to facilitate the speedy transfer of money over distances or to expedite the exploitation of assignments of taxation, in an age when movements of actual cash were hazardous. For the general use of such financial instruments in mediaeval Islam, see R. Grasshoff, Die Suftaǧa und Ḥawāla der Arabe ), Göttingen 1899, and WJ. Fischel, Jews in the economic and politic…

(a.), lit. “abode”. This is a Ḳurʾānic legal term referring to a women’s right upon her husband to provide shelter for her (XL, 6). It also refers to her right to stay in the matrimonial house during her waiting period following divorce or death (XL, 1). A famous statement of Fāṭima bt. Ḳays is recorded by al-Buk̲h̲ārī and Muslim in their collections of ḥadīt̲h̲ , that suknā and nafaḳa were not granted to her by the Prophet when she was irrevocably ¶ divorced. Her statement lead to a disagreement among scholars. Ḥanafīs follow the view of ʿUmar and ʿĀʾis̲h̲a who rejected Fāṭ…

(a.), lit. “pre-emption”, the right of the co-owner to buy out his partner’s share which is for sale. Should the property be sold without his approval to a third party, the partner has the privilege to purchase the property, even against the will of the new owner, who should be reimbursed with the price paid. Both Ḳurʾān and Ḥadīt̲h̲ are cited by books of fiḳh in support of the concept, though the former seems to provide only indirect reference. The Ḥanafīs grant this privilege to the owners of adjacent properties and make it valid not …

, S̲h̲irka (a.), nouns with a basic meaning of “partnership, association” (see Lane, Lexicon , s.v.) hence from the same root as the theological term s̲h̲irk [ q.v.] “associating other gods with God”, hence polytheism, and s̲h̲arīk , pl. s̲h̲urakāʾ “partner associated in divinity”, both frequent in the Ḳurʾān. As a term of Islamic law, it takes different forms according to the contents and conditions. According to al-Azharī, it signifies the mixing ( k̲h̲alṭ ) of two or more assets ( māl ) together with the permission of each partner that the other can trade with it. S̲h̲arika …

(a), a term of Islamic law meaning literally, “striking hands together”. The parallel root ś-f / p-ḳ (and in other places, more correctly, s-f / p-ḳ ) is found in Biblical Hebrew, cf. Isa. ii. 6 “they strike hands with foreigners”. Ṣafḳa is a non-Ḳurʾānic word, but taṣdiya is found in sūra VIII, 35, with a comparable meaning. Technically, safḳa has come to mean the ratification of a commercial contract, a formal, symbolic act for concluding a contract which has been disregarded in practice by Islamic law. Striking hands together, although associated with sale ( bayʿ ), should be designated ṣaf…

, ʿUmar b. Muḥammad b. ʿIwaḍ , Ḥanafī scholar of mediaeval Muslim India whose importance comes from his work on hisba [ q.v.], the Niṣāb al-iḥtisāb , which refers to the author’s own role in this office. Judging by the number of surviving mss., some sixty, the work was highly popular in the eastern Islamic lands. Previous scholars have been uncertain about the author’s origins and life (cf. e.g. Brockelmann, S II, 427). It now seems clear from internal evidence in his book that he stemmed from Sunām…

(a.), a term of Islamic law, denoting the bargaining involving both vendor and purchaser that occurs before a sale. Sawm is a classical term which, although pre-contractual, influences the formation of the contract and has a legal effect upon it. Sale is prohibited if a higher bid is offered, by a third party during the negotiation leading to the sale agreement. Al-Buk̲h̲ārī and Muslim record the prohibition of making an offer while another’s offer is being considered. What is curious is that they also record the prohibition of sale ( bayʿ ). This has lead to som…

(a.), verbal noun of me root s̲h̲-r-y , a technical term of early Islamic religion and, more generally, of Islamic commercial practice and law. The word appears to be one of the aḍdād [ q.v.], words with opposing meanings, in this case, buying and selling; the basic meaning must be to exchange or barter goods. Early theological usage was based on such Ḳurʾānic texts as II, 203/207, “Amongst the people is the one who sells ( yas̲h̲rī ) himself, desiring God’s approval (or: to satisfy God)”; II, 15/16, “These are those who have purchased ( is̲h̲taraw ) error for right g…

(a.), a term of Islamic law, literally, closing off the means that can lead to evil. The concept is based on the S̲h̲arīʿa’s tendency to ¶ prevent evil ( darʾ al-mafāsid ) and a legal maxim states that it has preference over achieving good ( d̲j̲alb al-maṣāliḥ ). Sadd al-d̲h̲arāʾiʿ is viewed as a continuation of maṣlaḥa mursala rather than an independent source. Despite this, sadd al-d̲h̲arāʾiʿ is often included in the books of law as an alternative legal source. Said to be based on the Ḳurʾān and sunna , it represents a mechanism devised by Mālikī jurists to r…

(a.), lit. “silence”, a term of Islamic law. Here, sukūt refers to an individual’s action of not actively expressing an opinion when involved in an action or contract that requires acceptance or rejection. This “tacit” manifestation of will can only be clarified by circumstance. The concept is highlighted by the legal maxim that states “no statement can be ascribed to a silent person, but silence when a need arises is a manifestation of will”. The application of this rule can be fou…

(a.), lit. “bodily form, shape”. The noun form does not occur in the Ḳurʾān, although verbal and adjectival forms of its root, here denoting a different range of meaning, that of staring fixedly (of the eyes), do occur (XIV, 43/42, XXI, 97). ¶ 1. In philosophy. Here, s̲h̲ak̲h̲ṣ , pl. as̲h̲k̲h̲āṣ , is equivalent to the Greek ἄτομον meaning an individual, a person. Philosophically, the as̲h̲k̲h̲āṣ are to be distinguished from ad̲j̲nāṣ (genera) and anwāʿ (species), as well as Arabic words which may have connotations of the particular or individual such as k̲h̲āṣṣ and ad̲j̲zāʾ …

(a.) “arrow”. For the use of arrows in archery, see ḳaws . 1. In science. a. Geometrical term. If one erects a perpendicular c b in the middle of a chord of an arc, which reaches to the arc, this is called al-sahm, the versed sine ( al-d̲j̲ayb al-maʿkūs ) of the arc a b; the sine ( al-d̲j̲ayb al-mustawī ), which corresponds to our sine, is a c (see—in ¶ addition to many other passages— al-K̲h̲wārazmī. Mafātīh al-ʿulūm ed. van Vloten, 205). The versed sine played a much more important part in the older mathematics from the Hindus onwards than it does in modern mathematics (cf. e.g. A. von Braunmühl, Gesch…

(a.), pl. asbāb , literally "rope" ( ḥabl ), the basic sense as given by the lexicographers (cf. LʿA ), coming to designate anything which binds or connects. It is "anything by means of which one gains an end ( maḳṣūd ; al-Ḏj̲urd̲j̲ānī) or an object sought" ( maṭlūb ; in the Baḥr al-d̲j̲awāhir ). One can mention asbāb with the sense of "bonds" in Ḳurʾān, II, 166: "When the bonds [which unite them] are broken...". Ibn ʿAbbās interpreted this as friendship ( mawadda ); Mud̲j̲āhid, "alliance" ( tawāṣul ) in this context. The sense is also found of "a means of achi…