Discover the meaning of the term Al-ābd (آبد) in Islamic vocabulary.
Contents :
Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 2 min readThe wild beast; one says: abdat al-bahima ta'abbud: the beast became wild; ta'abbada means: it became savage; and at-ta'abbud: savagery; it was given this name for its remaining forever (al-abad). In the technical usage of the jurists, the term is applied to two things: first, the wild animal, whether wild by nature or become wild; second, the tamed animal when it runs away (nadda: it strayed and fled). Al-abada: the calamity that lasts forever; it is a rare word; ja'a fulanun bi-abada: he came with a calamity whose mention lasts forever. The plural: awabid; al-awabid: the stray beasts among animals; and also the birds that remain on their land in winter and summer alike, from abada bi-l-makan ya'bud: he dwelt in the place, he is thus abid; when she migrates with the seasons, she belongs to the qawati' (the migrants): the awabid are thus the opposite of the qawati' among birds. Atan abad: a she-camel that gives birth every year. (Lisan al-'arab, entry abd, p. 4; Asas al-balagha, entry abd, p. 9; Al-mawsu'a al-fiqhiyya 1/92).