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Ambiguity (ijmal)

إجمال

For the mutakallimun among the usulis, mujmal is what its meaning does not make clear. For the Hanafis it is what cannot be understood without an explanation from the speaker, so that it is not found by reflection alone. 1 Ambiguity can lie in words or deeds; an example of a deed is the Prophet ﷺ's salam after two rak'as when it was unclear whether he forgot or the prayer was shortened. 1 Anything explained leaves ambiguity by agreement. 1

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Global / Diaspora
Review
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Development of law, theology and institutions

Summary

For the mutakallimun among the usulis, mujmal is what its meaning does not make clear. For the Hanafis it is what cannot be understood without an explanation from the speaker, so that it is not found by reflection alone. 1 Ambiguity can lie in words or deeds; an example of a deed is the Prophet's salam after two rak'as when it was unclear whether he forgot or the prayer was shortened. 1 Anything explained leaves ambiguity by agreement. 1

Related term: mushkil

For the Hanafis, if the meaning can be reached by reflection, the word is not mujmal but mushkil, which is a different category. 1

People and things also explored

Biting and the liability for injury it causes (add)· Justice and uprightness (adl)· Contagion (adwa)· Pardon (afw) in purity, worship, contracts and penalties· Covenant (ahd) and the duty to keep it; oath by the covenant of God· Term, deadline (ajal)· Hired worker (ajir)· Stranger, outsider (ajnabi)

Sources

  1. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.1700
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Ambiguity (ijmal)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/ijmal/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Wing

Ideas

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

Biting and the liability for injury it causes (add)

In the lexicon, add is gripping a thing with the teeth and holding it. If a person bites another without right and a wound results, the biter must pay the damages for the wound, assessed as a just award by experts. If one man bites another's hand and the bitten man pulls it free so that the biter's front teeth fall out, most jurists hold that there is no liability, relying on a prophetic judgement in such a case; the Shafi'is limit this to a bitten man who chose the easiest means of release, and the preferred Maliki view requires compensation.