IBN H.AZM'S CONCEPT OF IJMA' (GLOSSARY)

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GLOSSARY ‘adālah, honesty, honourable record ‘adl, (pl. ‘udūl), an honest man, a person with an honourable record ā h.ād (khabaru’l-wāh.id), a h.adīth (tradition) reported by one chain of authority ah.kām, (sing. h.ukm), laws, legal judgements. ‘ālim (pr. ‘ulamā’), a scholar, a learned man, a savant amīr (pl. umarā’), an emir, a ruler Andalūsia, al-Andalus, Muslim Spain arjah., preponderant asbāb al-nuzūl (sing. sabab al-nuzūl, see below) as.l (pl. us.ūl), basis, principle, theory (of divine law) ‘awām, laymen bāt.in, an inner or secret meaning Bāt.inīyah, seekers of the inner or spiritual meaning of the nas.s..

Bay‘ah, the pledge of allegiance bayt al-māl, public treasury d.a‘īf, weak dalālah, indication dalīl, prove, evidence dhikr, a reminder; it also means remembering and mentioning, which is a technical term for the ritual recitations of the dervishes and their services fād.il (pl. fud.ūl), eminent faqīh (pl. fuqahā’), a jurisprudent, a jurist whose professional interest is in fiqh far‘ (pl. furū ‘), branch, section, positive or substantive law fard., command, an incumbent duty of religion the performance of which is obligatory fatāwá (sing. fatwá, futwá, or futyā), the formal legal opinions of a canon lawyer (in matters of ‘ibādāt and ah.kām) .fatwá (see fatāwá above) fiqh, jurisprudence in Islam fitan, (sing. fitnah), dissension, civil strife, discord fitnah, (see fitan above)

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fud.ūl (see.fād.il above) fuqahā’ (see faqīh above) furū‘, (see far‘ above) futwá, (see.fatāwá above) futyā, (see.fatāwá above) h.add, fixed punishment; punishment indicated in the na s. s. h.adīth, news, a story, and finally a technical term for the tradition of what he Prophet said, did, or approved h.ajj, pilgrimage (to Makkah) h.arām, prohibited, forbidden, unlawful, sinful h.ujjah, proof, evidence h.ujjah z.annīyah (probable evidence). h.ukm, (pl. ah.kām), legal judgement, law ‘ibādāt (sing. ‘ibādah), acts of devotion, religious observances ijmā‘, the consensus of the Muslim community ijtihād, independent judgement in a legal question, based upon the interpretation and application of the Qur‘ān and the Sunnah ‘illah, cause, reason Imām, leader. It is used in a general sense, e.g., the leader in prayer, and in the particular sense of a community leader. Among the Shī‘ah the imāms take the place that the caliphs have among the Sunnī Muslims Imāmah, leadership īmān, faith, belief istih.sān, preference, the application of discretion in a legal judgement istithnā’, exception i‘tiqādāt, articles of religious faith or practice Jāhiliyyah, pre-Islamic paganism, (lit. state of ignorance) jamā‘ah (pl. jamā‘āt), group, community jamā‘āt (see jama‘ah above) jamā‘ātu‘l-h.aqq, the community of the truth. It is used by Ibn H. azm in a general sense as the Muslism community, and in the particular sense of the followers of the Qur’ān and the genuine H.adīth jinn, demons, genii, intelligent creatures of air and fire jumhūr, mass jumhūr al-‘ulamā’ , the ‘ulamā’ en masse (in the mass) kalālah, a deceased person who has neither parents nor children to give his inheritance to

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khabar, news, report khabar khās.s.ah, a special report khabar al-wāh.id (āh.ād ), a h.adīth reported by one chain of transmitters khabar al-tawātur (mutawātir), a h.adīth handed down by many chains of unimpeachable transmitters khalaf, the tābi‘ūn and other generations khalīfah, caliph khamr, intoxicant, wine, liquor khawās.s., the élite who know the inner meaning of the nas.s. khut.bah, sermon, especially the Friday sermon kitāb, document, message kufr, infidelity kunyah, the name consisting of Abū (Father) or Umm (mother) followed usually by the name of the eldest son or daughter madhhab, a school of law among Sunnī Muslims ma‘dhūr, excused madhmūm, reprehensible mah.mūd, praised ma’jūr, rewarded ma‘lūm bi’l-d.arūrah, known by necessity mamdūh., laudable mandūb, recommended mansūkh, abrogated matn, text, the subject-matter of a h.adīth mawlá, , client minbar, pulpit muh.kamah (pl. muh.kamāt), precise, clear verse of the Qur’ān mujmal, a word which needs explanation taken from another one; what is implied in general terms or expressed by implication mujtahid (pl. mujtahidīn), a legist who exercises ijtihād mujtahidīn, (see mujtahid above) munkar, reprehensible action mutakallimīn (sing. mutakallim), Muslim theologians mutashābihāt (sing. mutashābih), ambiguous verses of the Qur’ān mutawātir, (see khabar al-tawātur above) nadb, recommending naqd, critique nāsikh, abrogative

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nas.s., the divine text qād.ī, judge qiyās, analogy, especially in jurisprudence rak‘ah (pl. raka‘āt), unit in prayer, bowing rasūl, messenger ra’y, personal opinion sabab al-nuzūl, the occasion on which the verse was revealed s.ah.ābah, (sing. s.ah.ābī), companions of the Prophet s.ah.ābī, (see s.ah.ābah above) salaf, the first generation of the s.ah.ābah s.alāh, prayer sanad, chain of narration shādhdh, deviating sharī‘ah (pl. sharā’i‘), the canonical law of Islam; the body of regulations which makes up the religious law shaykh, old man, leader of a tribe or a group, master, a title of respect shubhah, judicial error shudhūdh, deviation sirriyyah, detachment Sunnah (pl. sunan), properly a custom or practice, and later narrowed down to the practice of the Prophet or a h.adīth recording the same.

Sunnah includes the Prophet’s sayings, deeds and tacit approval. In this respect often synonymous with adīth. Sunnah also means meritorious. sūrah, a chapter or a section of the Qur’ān tābi‘ī (pl. tābi‘īn), a person succeeding the generation of the s.ah.ābah tābi‘ī tābi‘īn, the following of the following generation of the s.ah.ābah tablīgh, conveyance of the message, religious instruction tafsīr, commentary of the Qur’ān t.ā’ifah, group, band, party takhs.īs., specification taqlīd, decision based on the authority of preceding generations ta’wīl, interpretation, inner meaning tawqīf, the teaching of the Prophet ta‘zīr, discretionary punishment thiqah (thiqāt), reliable authority ‘udūl, (see ‘adl above)

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‘ulamā’, (see ‘ālim above) ūlī ’l-amr, those who are in autority umarā’, (see amīr above) ummah, nation, people, party, community ummu’l-walad, a slave-girl who has borne her master a child us.ūl, (see as.l above) uswah, model wājib, obligatory wazīr, vizier, minister wud.ū’, ablution, the lesser cleansing necessary before prayers yaqīn, certitude z.āhir, apparent state of a thing z.akāh, alms tax z.ann, doubt, conjecture, uncertainty (in religion)