412 glossary
Œawalah: money transfer. A contract that allows a debtor to transfer his debt
obligation to a third party. Al-œawalawas another form of suftaja, where the debtor
would transfer the debt to his own debtor, or to another person able to pay, to
pay the debt to the original creditor. It involved three persons, or more, instead
of two, which resembled the modern bill of exchange and from which the French
word “aval”, endorsement on bill of exchange may have originated. In addition,
œawalawas issued “payable to bearer”.
Hibah: gift. A gift awarded to a person.
Œisbah: accountability, public duties. It is one of the spiritual orders of Islam, that
aims at enforcing what is Islamically ordained, ma"ruf, and preventing what is
religiously unlawful, mùnkar, in matters related to both the observance of God’s
worship as well the regularities of market and government operations.
I"atidàl (wasat):not leaning, wasat: middle. It indicates the principle of modera-
tion. The principle of moderation stipulates that human bahaviour, economic and
non-economic, should be exercised in moderation with no tendency toward extrem-
ism. “Let not your hand be tied to your neck (in not spending) nor let it be
stretched fully (in spending extravagantly) so that you may not end in poverty
and regret” (Qur"àn, 17:29).
Ibra": waiving a debt. An act by a person to withdraw his rights i.e. his rights to
collect payment from a person who has the obligation to repay the amount bor-
rowed from him.
Ijarah: leasing/hiring out. A manfaah (benefit) type of contract whereby a lessor
(owner) leases out an asset or equipment to a leasee at an agreed rental fee and
pre-determined lease period upon the aqad (contract). The ownership of the leased
equipment remains in the hands of a lessor.
Ijarah Thumma Bai": initial leasing leading to full sale. A lease contract but with
the intention of transferring the ownership of the leased asset to the leasee with
the effect of a sale transaction at the end of a pre-agreed upon lease period and
for a pre-agreed upon price.
Ijm"a: general agreement. The consensus of the opinion among leading religious
scholars that lends support to a religious ruling reached through formulating own
opinion.
Ijtihàd:the independent reasoning that is reached through exerting oneself to reach
an opinion, based on the Qur"àn, the Sunnah, Consensus of Opinion, Qiyàs,
Istihˆsàn, Istislàhˆand 'Urf, in dealing with a contemporary situation that had no
previous similarity in the past or if it had it was not on the same scale.
Islam:complete surrender to the One almighty God. As a religion, Islam is based
on five pillars: witnessing that there is no God but One and that the Prophet
Muhˆammad is His messenger, practicing the prescribed prayers, ›alàh, paying
the prescribed charity, Zakàh, fasting the month of Ramadàn, sawm, and pil-
grimage by whoever can afford it, Hajj.
Isràf:extensive use of resources through extravagance, which is frowned upon as
Muslim are ordained to spend in moderation, see I"atidàl.
Istiœsàn: preference. Departure from analogy in reaching a judgment, or formu-
lating an opinion, in preference of another on grounds of seeking a change for
the better.
Istislàœ: public interest. A form of reaching an unprecedented judgment or for-
mulating an opinion in a new case or a case that may not be very dissimilar to
a previous case based on, or deviating from previous ruling in pursuit of, pub-
lic interest.