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(a.), an abstract noun from the verb ṣaluḥa or sạlaḥa “to be sound, righteous”, denotes the idea of peace and reconciliation in Islamic law and practice. The purpose of ṣulḥ is to end conflict and hostility among believers so that they may conduct their relationships in peace and amity. In the relationship between Muslim and non-Muslim communities, the purpose of ṣulḥ is to suspend fighting between them and establish peace, called muwādaʿa (peace or gentle relationship), for a specific period of time. In Islamic law ṣulḥ is a form of contract ( ʿaḳd ), legally bind…

, abstract noun from the root h.d.n. with the sense of “calm”, “peace”. Other terms which have the same meaning are muwādaʿa , muṣālaḥa , musālama , and mutāraka , the general meaning of which in Islamic law is the abstention of the parties concerned from hostilities against each other. The process of entering into a peace agreement with the enemy is called muhādana or muwādaʿa, but the instrument of peace is hudna (peace agreement). In Islamic legal theory, normal relations between the dār al-Islām [ q.v.] and the dār al-ḥarb [ q.v.] were not peaceful, and there existed a state of lat…

, the concept in Islam of the public interest or welfare. Maṣlaḥa (pl. maṣāliḥ ) is the abstract noun of the verb ṣalaḥa (or ṣaluḥa ), “to repair or improve”. Strictly speaking, maṣlaḥa , like manfaʿa , means “utility” and its antonyms are maḍarra and mafsada (“injury”); but generally speaking, maṣlaḥa denotes “welfare” and is used by jurists to mean “general good” or “public interest”. Anything which helps to avert mafsada or ḍarar and furthers human welfare is equated with maṣlaḥa. As a legal concept, maṣlaḥa must be distinguished from istiṣlāḥ , a method of legal reasoning through which ma…

, war. i.— Legal Aspect Ḥarb may mean either fighting ( ḳitāl ) in the material sense or a “state of war” between two or more groups; both meanings were implied in the legal order of pre-Islamic Arabia. Owing to lack of organized authority, war became the basis of inter-tribal relationship. Peace reigned only when agreed upon between two or more tribes. Moreover, war fulfilled such purposes as vendetta and retaliation. The desert, adapted to distant raids and without natural frontiers, rendered the Arabs habituated to warfare and fighting became a function of society. Islam, prohibiting …

, in modern Arabic constitution. A word of Persian origin, it seems originally to have meant a person exercising authority, whether religious or political, and was later specialized to designate members of the Zoroastrian priesthood. It occurs in Kalīla wa-Dimna in the sense of “counsellor”, and recurs with the same sense, at a much later date, in the phrase Dustūr-i mükerrem , one of the honorific titles of the Grand Vizier in the Ottoman Empire. More commonly, dustūr was used in the sense of “rule” or “regulation”, and in particular the code of ru…