Discover the meaning of the term Al-ṣrf (صرف) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 2 min readIn language: repelling and turning back; in the Law: the sale of monies one against the other.
A science by which the states of words are known as regards derivation (al-i'lal).
With kasra alone, and with fatha (in Persian: kardanidan jizi az hali bi hali, changing from one state to another). Repelling, turning away, surplus and increase; from it the declinable word (mutasarrif), which includes the increase of tanwin upon declension.
The door, or the pen, and the like, with sarifan: to turn away. A thing, with sarfan: to turn it from its course. Wealth: to spend it. Speech: to adorn it. Coin for its like: to exchange it. Ist arafa: to traffic in quest of gain. The coin: to buy it. Insarafa: to depart; and in the Quran, of the hypocrites: 'And whenever a sura is sent down, they look one at another: does anyone see you? Then they turn away; God has turned their hearts because they are a people who do not understand' (At-Tawba, 127). One says: he turned away from him: he avoided him and left him. The matter: to take its course and turning. Between two: to distinguish; and in the Quran: 'And certainly We have displayed in this Quran for men every kind of similitude; but man is in most things contentious' (Al-Kahf, 54). At-tasarruf: masdar.