Discover the meaning of the term Al-fraʾḍ (فرائض) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 2 min readThe science by which is known the manner of dividing the estate among its rightful claimants.
The plural of farida, which is the measured portion; and al-farid is the measuring.
Al-farid is the plural of al-farida. If you wish the verification of the fara'id, return to the science of fara'id, for there are subtle verifications and true refinements there.
The plural of farida, as hada'iq is the plural of hadiqa; they are taken from al-farid, the cutting; one says: 'I cut for so-and-so such and such': meaning I cut for him a portion of wealth. It is said: they are from the bow's farid, that is, the notch at its end where the string is placed, that it fix therein and hold to it without shifting; thus said al-Khattabi. It is said: the second is specific to Allah's obligations, what He bound His servants by for the likeness of binding, since the string binds its place. Al-fara'id: the science by which is known the manner of dividing the estate among its rightful claimants. The shaykh Ibn 'Arfa (may Allah be pleased with him) said: 'The science of fara'id, with the ancients: the fiqh concerned with inheritance, and the science of what conduces to knowing the measure of what is due each right-holder in the estate.' (Al-Mu'jam al-Wasit, entry 'farid', 2/708; Nayl al-Awtar, 6/55; al-Ta'rifat, p. 145; Sharh Hudud Ibn 'Arfa, p. 687).
It is the division among the heirs.
A science in which one investigates the manner of dividing the estate among its rightful claimants.