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Advanced theological and academic terms.

مَقَاصِد ٱلشَّرِيعَة
Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah
Objectives of Islamic Law
The five essential goals: preservation of religion, life, intellect, lineage, and property.
أُصُول ٱلْفِقْه
Uṣūl al-Fiqh
Principles of Jurisprudence
The methodology used to derive legal rulings from the primary sources.
إِسْنَاد
Isnād
Chain of Narration
The sequence of narrators linking a hadith back to the Prophet.
مَتْن
Matn
Text Body
The actual wording of a hadith report, distinct from its chain.
عِلَّة
ʿIllah
Hidden Defect
A subtle flaw in a hadith's chain or text that undermines its authenticity.
جَرْح وَتَعْدِيل
Jarḥ wa-Taʿdīl
Narrator Criticism & Validation
The science of evaluating hadith narrators for reliability and character.
مُصْطَلَح ٱلْحَدِيث
Muṣṭalaḥ al-Ḥadīth
Hadith Terminology
The technical vocabulary and classifications used in hadith sciences.
عُلُوم ٱلْقُرْآن
ʿUlūm al-Qurʾān
Sciences of the Quran
The various disciplines related to understanding the Quran.
مَصْلَحَة مُرْسَلَة
Maṣlaḥah Mursalah
Public Interest
A principle allowing rulings based on public welfare when no text addresses the issue.
سَدّ ٱلذَّرَائِع
Sadd al-Dharāʾiʿ
Blocking the Means
Prohibiting permissible actions if they are likely to lead to harm.
اِسْتِحْسَان
Istiḥsān
Juristic Preference
Departing from strict analogy when it leads to hardship, in favor of a better outcome.
اِسْتِصْحَاب
Istiṣḥāb
Presumption of Continuity
A legal principle that an existing state continues until proven otherwise.
عُرْف
ʿUrf
Custom / Convention
Local customs accepted as a supplementary source of law when not contradicting primary sources.
ضَرُورَة
Ḍarūrah
Necessity
The principle that necessity permits what is otherwise prohibited.
حُكْم
Ḥukm
Legal Ruling
The legal categorization of an act: obligatory, recommended, permissible, disliked, or forbidden.
فَرْض
Farḍ
Obligatory
An act that is mandatory — omitting it is sinful.
وَاجِب
Wājib
Necessary
An obligation — in some schools synonymous with fard, in others slightly below it.
مُسْتَحَبّ
Mustaḥabb
Recommended
An act that is encouraged and rewarded but not sinful to omit.
مُبَاح
Mubāḥ
Permissible
An act that is morally neutral — neither rewarded nor punished.
مَكْرُوه
Makrūh
Disliked
An act that is discouraged but not sinful.
تَكْلِيف
Taklīf
Legal Responsibility
The conditions under which a person becomes legally accountable in Islam.
إِجَازَة
Ijāzah
License to Transmit
Authorization from a teacher permitting a student to transmit a text or teaching.
تَقْلِيد
Taqlīd
Following a School
Adhering to the rulings of one school of thought without independent reasoning.
نَسْخ
Naskh
Abrogation
The replacement of an earlier Quranic ruling by a later one.
مُحْكَم
Muḥkam
Clear / Unambiguous
Quranic verses with a single, clear meaning.
مُتَشَابِه
Mutashābih
Ambiguous / Allegorical
Quranic verses open to multiple interpretations.
عَامّ
ʿĀmm
General
A text that applies to all members of a class without restriction.
خَاصّ
Khāṣṣ
Specific / Particular
A text that restricts a general ruling to specific cases.
مُجْمَل
Mujmal
Summary / Concise
A text whose meaning requires further explanation from other sources.
مُبَيَّن
Mubayyan
Clarified / Explained
A text that explains or specifies the meaning of a mujmal text.
مُطْلَق
Muṭlaq
Unrestricted
A term applied without any qualifying conditions.
مُقَيَّد
Muqayyad
Restricted / Qualified
A term limited by specific conditions or qualifiers.
ظَاهِر
Ẓāhir
Apparent Meaning
The obvious, literal meaning of a text.
بَاطِن
Bāṭin
Inner / Hidden Meaning
The deeper, esoteric meaning of a text.
دَلَالَة
Dalālah
Indication / Signification
The way a text indicates its meaning — explicit, implicit, or contextual.
قَطْعِيّ
Qaṭʿī
Definitive
A text or ruling that is absolutely certain in meaning or authenticity.
ظَنِّيّ
Ẓannī
Speculative / Probable
A text open to interpretation, or a hadith with a probable (not certain) chain.
إِسْتِقْرَاء
Istiqrāʾ
Induction
Deriving general principles from specific cases across the texts.
تَعَارُض
Taʿāruḍ
Apparent Contradiction
When two texts seem to conflict — resolved through methods like specification or abrogation.
تَرْجِيح
Tarjīḥ
Preponderance
Giving preference to one of two conflicting evidences based on strength.