Discover the meaning of the term Al-qasm (قَسْم) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 4 min readWith the qaf vowelled with fatha: masdar of qasama: the divider of property among partners divides it between them and fixes their shares (ansiba').
With fatha: a masdar meaning division (tajziya). The qisma of the husband is his equal apportionment of conjugal visits among the wives, that is, his even dealing with the wives in food, conjugal dwelling and the like; with kasra: the share (nasib) or the part (juz').
With fatha of the qaf: the husband's equal division of his nights among the women.
To divide a thing (qasama): take its half; make it two halves; 'to divide among the people': give each his share. In the Quran: 'Is it they who portion out the mercy of your Lord? We have apportioned among them their livelihood in the life of this world' (al-Zukhruf, 32); he is then qasim (divider) and qassam (allotter). The face, qasama or qasaman: handsome; he is qasim (of handsome face); plural aqsam. To split the thing into two: take its parts. Al-istiqsam: a kind of divination by azlam (divining arrows): in the Jahiliyya they wrote on the arrows 'do' and 'do not', leaving some blank; when about to set out on an affair they drew lots with these arrows, and did as the lot showed; that was the practice of the soothsayers. Al-qisama: beauty; plural qisamat. The truce between the enemy and the Muslims. The group that swears to establish its right and takes it. In legal usage: the fixed oath (qasama) upon accusation of slaying, for proof or denial. (Ibn Hajar). Al-qusama: what the divider (al-qasim) reserves for himself of the capital as his wage. Alms. Al-qasm: masdar. One says: 'this divides into two parts' (masdar), and qismayn: the share or the portion divided. The gift. The opinion. Doubt. The unseen. Water. Creation. Custom. 'Division among the wives': that the husband spend the nights with them in fairness. Al-qism: the share and the lot; plural aqsam. Al-qasam: the oath; plural aqsam. In the Noble Book: 'I swear not by the positions of the stars; and it is a great oath, if you knew; it is a noble Quran' (al-Waqi'a, 75-77). Al-qisma: a noun of dividing a thing. In the Quran: 'If the near of kin, the orphans and the poor are present at the division, provide for them from it and speak to them a kind word' (al-Nisa', 8). The share; plural aqsam. In religious law: the discrimination of rights and the separation of shares. (al-Jurjani). In the Majalla (art. 1046): it denotes taqsim; (art. 1114): the determination of the common share, that is, separating the shares from one another by some measure, such as the cubit, weight, or capacity.
The man's setting of the duration of his stay with his wives.
With vowelling: a noun of iqsam (swearing); in usage: an emphatic formula requiring what is attached to it of a name denoting veneration, namely the oath by God, more specific than imin and hilf, both of which embrace the conditional reply as well.
With fatha: in religious law, the husband's equal dealing with his wives in food, drink, clothing, and conjugal nights.
﴿أَهُمْ يَقْسِمُونَ رَحْمَتَ رَبِّكَ ۚ نَحْنُ قَسَمْنَا بَيْنَهُم مَّعِيشَتَهُمْ فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۚ وَرَفَعْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ فَوْقَ بَعْضٍۢ دَرَجَـٰتٍۢ لِّيَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُهُم بَعْضًۭا سُخْرِيًّۭا ۗ وَرَحْمَتُ رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌۭ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ﴾
« Do they distribute the mercy of your Lord? It is We who have apportioned among them their livelihood in the life of this world and have raised some of them above others in degrees [of rank] that they may make use of one another for service. But the mercy of your Lord is better than whatever they accumulate. »
Surah الزخرف : 32
﴿وَإِنَّهُۥ لَقَسَمٌۭ لَّوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عَظِيمٌ﴾
« And indeed, it is an oath - if you could know - [most] great. »
Surah الواقعة : 76
﴿هَلْ فِى ذَٰلِكَ قَسَمٌۭ لِّذِى حِجْرٍ﴾
« Is there [not] in [all] that an oath [sufficient] for one of perception? »
Surah الفجر : 5