Islam > Glossary > Al-rsm al-tam
Discover the meaning of the term Al-rsm al-tam (رسم التام) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 2 min readThat which is composed of the proximate genus and the specific property, such as the definition of the human being as the laughing animal.
The definiens composed of the proximate genus and the specific property, such as the definition of the human being as the laughing animal. Whether it is a description (rasm) because of its inclusion of the property of the thing, which is an effect among the effects of the thing, for the trace of a dwelling is its effect. Thus, defining a thing by the property that is an effect among its effects is a definition by the effect. Or whether it is complete (tamm) due to the realization of the resemblance between it and the complete definition (al-hadd al-tamm) in that the proximate genus was placed therein, and restricted by something specific to the thing, just as the genus in the complete definition is restricted by something like the articulate (al-natiq), which is specific to the thing, namely the human being for example.
That which is composed of the proximate genus and the specific property, such as the definition of the human being as the laughing animal (Al-Ta'rifat, p. 116).