Discover the meaning of the term Al-jnwn (جنون) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 4 min readIt is the derangement of the intellect such that it prevents actions and words from proceeding upon the path of reason except rarely. According to Abu Yusuf: if it obtains throughout most of the year, it applies; less than that, it does not apply.
The vanishing of the intellect or its derangement such that it prevents actions and words from proceeding upon the path of reason except rarely. According to Abu Yusuf, may Allah have mercy on him: if it obtains throughout most of the year, it applies; less than that, it does not. Insanity is among the heavenly accidents; it does not drop what does not admit of being dropped except by performance or by discharge of the right-holder, such as the guarantee of destroyed property, the obligation of the blood-price (diya) and compensation (irsh), and the maintenance of relatives: these do not fall away by insanity. As for what admits of being dropped, such as fasting, prayer and the rest of the acts of worship, these fall away and are no longer obligatory, for imposing them would involve harm to his interest, and they are dropped for many excuses of the adult; so they drop by insanity when its condition is met, namely extension. Likewise the legal punishments (hudud) and expiations (kaffarat), for they drop by grounds of non-liability and excuses; so they drop by insanity that removes reason, in the first manner. Likewise divorce (talaq), manumission ('ataq), gift (hiba) and the like of harmful dispositions are not lawful in his case, such that his guardian cannot effect them upon him, as they are not lawful in the case of the child, for they are pure harms. The limit of extension in fasting is that it embrace the month; in prayer, that it exceed a day and night; and in zakat, that it embrace the whole year according to Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, while Abu Yusuf, may Allah have mercy on him, made most of the year its full measure.
The vanishing of the intellect or its derangement such that it prevents actions and words from proceeding upon the path of reason except rarely; according to Abu Yusuf (may Allah be pleased with him), if it obtains throughout most of the year it applies, and less than that it does not. Abu al-Baqa' said: it is the disorder of the discerning faculty that distinguishes good from ugly things and perceives consequences, such that its effect does not appear and its actions are suspended: either through the deficiency congenital to the brain in the original constitution, or through the brain's temperament leaving equilibrium due to a mixture or an affliction, or through the devil gaining mastery over him and casting corrupt imaginings at him, such that he panics without any valid cause. (Dastur al-'Ulama', 1/411; al-Kulliyyat, p. 349; al-Tawqif, p. 256).
An accident that overwhelms the intellect.
The confusion of the intellect such that it prevents actions and words from falling upon the straight course except rarely.
It is the confusion of the intellect such that it prevents actions and words from proceeding upon the path of reason except rarely; according to Abu Yusuf, if it obtains throughout most of the year it applies, and less than that it does not.