Discover the meaning of the term Al-tʿzyr (تعزير) in Islamic vocabulary.
Contents :
Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 4 min readIt is disciplinary correction short of the hadd punishment; its root is al-'azr, which is prevention.
In its root sense: repelling and restraining, which is prevention; in the Law: it is correction short of the hadd.
A punishment not quantified, owed either to God Most High or to the servant; its cause is any act of disobedience (ma'siyya), actual or verbal, that involves no hadd: it is therefore correction short of the hadd. Its root is al-'azr, prevention and restraint. The maximum of ta'zir is thirty-nine lashes according to Abu Hanifa (may God be pleased with him); according to Abu Yusuf (may God have mercy on him) it is seventy-seven, and in one transmission seventy-nine, which is the sounder in his view (may God have mercy on him). Imprisoning the offender is valid if there is benefit in it. According to Abu Yusuf (may God have mercy on him), ta'zir is proportioned to the magnitude of the offense, as in al-Muhit, al-Dhakhira, and others. Its minimum is three blows, as in al-Kafi, or one, as in al-Khazana, or whatever the imam sees fit, such as a reprimand and a blow, as our masters mentioned, as in al-Hidaya. The principle is that if the act is one for which the hadd is obligatory, the maximum applies; otherwise it is left to the judge, as in Fatawa Qadi Khan. The imam and the judge have the choice of correcting without blows: by slapping, shaking, violent speech, and lawful revilement other than slander (qadhf), that is, sanctioned rebuke such as 'shaqi' (wretched one) and the look in the face.
In language: prevention; one says ''azartuhu' and ''azzartuhu' (I prevented him, I chastised him): when one prevented him; hence disciplinary correction short of the hadd was named ta'zir, because it prevents the offender from returning to the sin. Al-Sa'di said: one says ''azzartuhu': I honored him (waqqartuhu), and also: I disciplined him; it is a word of contronymic meanings (addad); it is a taf'il form from al-'azr, meaning prevention and compelling to a command. Its root is giving aid and veneration, and in this sense is the word of the Truth Most High: 'fa-alladhina amanu bihi wa-'azzaruhu' (those who believe in him and venerate him).
Correction short of the hadd for a disobedience involving neither hadd nor expiation; from al-'azr, which is rebuke and prevention; mentioned by Ibn al-Kammal (At-Ta'rifat, p. 65). Al-Raghib said (al-Mufradat, p. 333): al-ta'ziz is aid joined with veneration. Ta'zir is correction short of the hadd and reverts to the first: it is correction, and correction is aid through subduing something; but the first is aid by suppressing the enemy from him, the second aid by subduing what is an enemy, for the deeds of evil are man's enemy: whenever you suppress them from him, you have aided him. To this belongs the hadith: 'Aid your brother, whether oppressor or oppressed' (hasan sahih).