What does Al-ʿhda mean?

Islam > Glossary > Al-ʿhda

Discover the meaning of the term Al-ʿhda (عهدة) in Islamic vocabulary.

Definition Al-ʿhda

Al-ʿhda according to Kitab at-Ta'rifat (Al-Jurjani)

It is the guarantee of the price for the buyer if the sold item is claimed by a right-holder, or if a defect is found in it.

Al-ʿhda according to Dustur al-'Ulama (Al-Ahmadnagari)

A word of multiple senses: it may denote the old title deed (saqq) belonging to the seller; or the contract, for al-'ahda is from al-'ahd as al-'uqda is from al-'aqd, and 'aqd and 'ahd are one; or the rights of the contract, for they are among its fruits; or the darak, namely handing over the price when the sold item is claimed; or the option of stipulation (khiyar al-shart), as in the hadith: ''ahdat ar-riqqa thalathat ayyam' (the option on a slave is three days), that is, the option of stipulation. Hence, if a man buys a slave and another guarantees him 'al-'ahda' without specifying what it is, the guarantee is void; its nullity is due to ignorance, for guaranteeing 'by al-'ahda' in the first sense (the seller's title) is impossible, since one who guarantees by undertaking to deliver it to the buyer guarantees what he cannot attain, and so it is not valid, unlike the guarantee of darak, which is in common usage for guaranteeing against claims. In 'Al-Hidaya': if he guarantees al-khalas, it is not valid according to Abu Hanifa (may God Most High have mercy on him), because it necessarily means extracting the sold item and delivering it, and he is unable to do so; according to the other two it ranks as darak, namely delivering the sold item or its price, and is thus valid. End. Know that by 'value' (qima) he means the price, for what is due in the case of a claim is the price, not the value.

Al-ʿhda according to Mu'jam al-Mustalahat al-Fiqhiyya

In language: the document of the two contracting parties, to which they refer in case of confusion; it is the written deed of sale; or it is the darak, that is, the guarantee of the price for the buyer if the sold item is claimed or has a defect. As a technical term: the majority of scholars apply it to these two meanings: the document and the darak.

Al-ʿhda according to Mu'jam Lughat al-Fuqaha

With damma and sukun: guarantee and suretyship (contractual obligation); funds entrusted for safekeeping to a responsible trustee; the guarantee of the darak, namely the guarantee of the price for the buyer if the sold item is claimed or has a defect (see: darak).

Al-ʿhda according to At-Ta'rifat al-Fiqhiyya (Al-Barkati)

The written deed of oath and sale; and also the guarantee of the price for the buyer if the sold item is claimed or a defect is found in it.