Blame and reproach (dhamm) in the rulings

الذم (في الفقه)

Dhamm is the opposite of praise; in the rulings it is harm done to another, such as slander, abuse and insult, and it carries the hadd or discretionary penalties. ¹ Blaming God or His Messenger is disbelief, and cruel speech against believers is forbidden; the law forbids mockery, sneering, and calling people by insulting nicknames, while the jurists allow a nickname that describes an unavoidable trait without disparagement. ² ³ Blaming innovators is sought, and blaming sins, disbelievers and hypocrites is found in the law. ³ ⁴

Depth

At a glance

Era: The Prophetic Era
Region: Global / Diaspora
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Law and courts

Summary

Dhamm is the opposite of praise; in the rulings it is harm done to another by speech, such as slander, abuse and insult, and it carries the hadd and discretionary penalties. ¹ Blaming God or His Messenger is among the gravest injuries and amounts to disbelief, and cruel speech against believing men and women is forbidden. ²

Mockery and nicknames

The law forbids mockery, sneering, and calling people by insulting nicknames. ² ³ The jurists allow a nickname that describes a trait the person cannot help and does not resent, such as lame or hunchbacked. ³

Blaming innovators, sins and unbelievers

Blaming innovators and innovations is sought in the law. ³ ⁴ The Qur'an blames sins, disbelievers and hypocrites; the idols of unbelievers may not be cursed if that leads them to curse God. ⁴

People and things also explored

Ahliyya (legal capacity: to have rights and duties, and to act; its stages from the womb to full maturity, and what impairs it)· Democracy and the Sharia — compatibility and conflict· Fatwa on the satellite channels — its benefit and harm· Secularism and Islam — conflict or concord· Stoning (rajm) as a penalty for zina· Allusion to a proposal during the waiting period· Aman (safe-conduct granted to enemies in war)· Amana (trust, deposit and what is entrusted)

Sources

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.8478
al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.8479
al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.8480
al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.8481

Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Blame and reproach (dhamm) in the rulings”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/dhamm-fiqh/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words. Related

Ahliyya (legal capacity: to have rights and duties, and to act; its stages from the womb to full maturity, and what impairs it)

Ahliyya is lexically suitability, and it is of two kinds: capacity to have rights and duties, the capacity of liability; and capacity to act, that is to perform acts recognised by the law. Its bearer passes through the stages of the foetus, childhood, discernment, puberty and maturity. Liability is complete from birth and incomplete for the foetus; the capacity to act is partial at discernment and full with puberty and reason. It is affected by heavenly impediments such as madness, imbecility, sleep, fainting, illness, slavery, menstruation, childbirth and death, and by acquired ones such as ignorance, drunkenness, jest, folly, travel, error and coercion.