Discover the meaning of the term Al-ishara (إشارة) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 4 min readWhat is established by the formula itself, without speech being adduced for it.
In the usage of the principles of fiqh: what is established by the formula itself, without speech being adduced for it: this is the ishara of the text (nass), as in God's saying: 'for the poor emigrants': the speech is adduced to establish granting them a share of the spoils; and there is in the text an ishara to their properties passing into the unbelievers' hands, since God called them 'poor': the faqir is the name of one without property, not of one far from ownership, for faqr is the opposite of wealth, and the rich is he who truly possesses property, not he whose hand has drawn near to it; thus the contract-for-manumission (mukatab) is not rich even though property is in his hand. And the ibn al-sabil (wayfarer) is rich even though his hand is far from property, by his established ownership; hence zakat is incumbent upon him. Al-Sayyid al-Sanad al-Sharif said: the text's ishara is acting upon what is established by the speech's ordering, laterally, unintended and without the ordering being adduced for it; as in God's saying: 'and upon the child, their provision and clothing': the speech is adduced to establish maintenance; and there is an ishara to descent through fathers. Pointing the forefinger in testimony, in the final salutations, is a sunna: the fatwa rests upon it. In the Fath al-Qadir, from Muhammad: the manner of pointing is to fold the little finger and the one next to it, extend the middle finger and the thumb, and raise the forefinger. In the Kaidani: the pointing mentioned is disapproved and rejected. Shams al-A'imma al-Halwa'i said: one raises the forefinger at 'there is no god' and lowers it at 'but God': the raising for negation, the lowering for affirmation.
In language: making sign with something from which is understood what is understood from speech; it is indicating a thing by the palm, the eye, the brow and the like; 'he signaled (ashara ilayhi) to him about such a thing': showed him his opinion. Taken absolutely, ishara belongs to the sensible and is used metaphorically of the intelligible, as the sign by the third-person pronoun and the like; with 'to' it means indicating by the hand; with 'upon', opinion. Ishara in technical usage, among the usulis: the word's signifying what is not intended but follows of necessity; as the signification of God's saying: 'no blame upon you if you divorce women you have not touched nor appointed for them a portion.'
An intellectual or sensible indication of a thing such that no other shares in it.
Making sign with something from which the speech is understood; ishara thus equals speech in conveying the meaning.
It is the designation of a thing by the senses.