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Aggression (udwan)

العُدْوَان

Linguistically, udwan means going beyond a limit; in the jurists' usage it mostly refers to an unjust attack on a person's life or property, which calls for retaliation (qisas) or compensation (daman) 1. Related words are zulm and ithm: the lexicographers and commentators treat udwan as narrower than sin and as close in meaning to injustice 2. Its ruling depends on its object: a deliberate attack on life or limbs is forbidden and entails retaliation; theft or armed robbery against property entails the fixed penalty (hadd); the seizure of another's right by aggression, such as usurpation or plunder, entails compensation; and aggression against honour, through unlawful intercourse or slander, entails the hadd, while lesser offences entail discretionary punishment (tazir) 3.

Depth

At a glance

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

Summary

Linguistically, udwan means going beyond a limit. Jurists mostly use it for an unjust attack on a person's life or property, which calls for retaliation (qisas) or compensation (daman) 1.

Related terms

Zulm is placing a thing where it does not belong and going beyond what is right; ithm is what deserves blame. Ithm is wider than udwan 2.

General ruling

The ruling depends on the object. A deliberate attack on life or limbs is forbidden and entails retaliation; theft or armed robbery against property entails the fixed penalty; seizing another's right by aggression, as in usurpation or plunder, entails compensation by returning the thing or its equivalent or value; aggression against honour, through unlawful intercourse or slander, entails the fixed penalty, and lesser offences entail discretionary punishment 3.

Where it is discussed

The details are treated in their own entries: homicide and retaliation, theft and armed robbery, usurpation, plunder and destruction of property, and unlawful intercourse and slander 3.

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.11521
  2. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11522
  3. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11523
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Aggression (udwan)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/udwan/. 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

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.