Tasarruf (a legal disposition: act or statement by one's will)

التصرف

A tasarruf is what proceeds from a person by his will and on which the law builds various rulings. It is wider than an obligation or a contract. It is either an act, such as seizure or receiving, or a statement; a statement is either a contract, which needs the will of two parties, such as sale, hire or marriage, or a non-contractual statement: some carry a creating will, such as an endowment or a divorce, and some are pure, such as a claim or an acknowledgement. Worship, exchanges, gifts, restrictions, obligations, waivers, authorities, proofs and wrongs all fall under it; the conditions of its validity are given in the entries for each kind. 1 2 3

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At a glance

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Global / Diaspora
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Ethics and characterFamily, marriage and kinship

Overview

A tasarruf is what proceeds from a person by his will and on which the law builds various rulings. 1

Definition, and its difference from obligation and contract

The jurists give no general definition; it is understood from their words as what comes from a person by his will. 1 An obligation is a person binding himself to what was not already binding on him, and is wider than the disposition in its sense of will. 1 2 A contract is the joining of offer and acceptance so that it has effects. A tasarruf is wider than a contract in both senses, since it may involve no obligation, as theft and seizure. 2

Kinds

A tasarruf is either an act, such as seizure, receiving the price and delivering the goods, or a statement. 2 A statement is either a contract, which needs the agreement of two wills, such as hire, sale, marriage or agency, or a non-contractual statement. 2 The non-contractual is of two kinds: one carries a creating will and a settled resolve to create, end or waive a right, such as an endowment, a divorce, a release and an oath; the other is pure, with no will, such as a claim or an acknowledgement. 3

What it covers

It covers acts of worship such as prayer, zakat, fasting and pilgrimage; exchanges such as sale, settlement, hire, marriage and khul; gifts such as endowment, gift and charity; restrictions such as interdiction and taking back a divorced wife; obligations such as surety, guarantee and assignment; waivers such as divorce and manumission by will; authorisations such as licensing a slave to trade; authorities such as judgeship and the imamate; proofs such as acknowledgement, testimony, oath and pledge; and wrongs such as seizure, theft and offences against persons. 3

Conditions

The conditions of its validity and effect are not treated here; they belong in the entry for each kind. 3

People and things also explored

Joy and gladness (al-farah wal-surur)· Hardship and fear of sin ('anat) in marrying a slave-woman· Shahwa (desire: its effect on touch and ablution, on fasting and pilgrimage, on looking, on marriage by touch and on the breaking of the marriage bond)· Shakk (doubt in law: its kinds, the rule that certainty is not removed by doubt, and its effect on worship, contracts, penalties and evidence)· Ghadd al-basar (lowering the gaze)· Hadiyya (gift)· Hajr (abandonment and shunning: its rules for a believer, a sinner, an innovator and a wife)· Hiba (gift: its pillars, the parties, the thing given, possession, return and conditions)

Sources

  1. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.5235
  2. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.5236
  3. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.5237
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Tasarruf (a legal disposition: act or statement by one's will)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/tasarruf-legal-disposition/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Joy and gladness (al-farah wal-surur)

Sheikh Omar Abdelkafy sets out joy and gladness: surur as gladness free from grief, the blameworthy farah linked with pride and boasting, faith as the greatest source of gladness, happiness sought through piety and contentment rather than travel or wealth, and a cheerful face as a prophetic manner.