Discover the meaning of the term Al-ymyn (يمين) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 4 min readIn language: strength. In the law: the strengthening of one of the two poles of an information by mentioning Allah, exalted be He, or by making the statement conditional; an oath without the mention of Allah entails only the condition and its sanction, to the extent that if one swears not to swear and says: 'If I enter the house, my slave is freed and I break it (yahnith)', the prohibition of the lawful is an oath, as in Allah's saying: 'Why do you forbid what Allah has made lawful to you' up to His saying: 'Allah has already ordained for you the dissolution of your oaths'.
The right hand; strength and capability. In the law: the strengthening of one of the two poles of an information by that by which one swears; its plural is al-ayman. In the Majma' al-hawashi: the oath is the strengthening of what one has resolved upon among attainments.
In language, this word applies to several senses: the opposite of the left, for the side and the limb; blessing (baraka), derived from 'yumn', as in 'a maymun (blessed) man', meaning blessed; strength; the oath, the swearing, and ila' (abstention from marital relations under oath). It is thus one of the equivocal terms, then it was used for the oath because in the Age of Ignorance (jahiliyya), when they concluded an alliance, each took his companion's right hand, so the oath was called yamin for that reason; or because the swearer strengthens himself by the oath, just as the right hand is stronger than the left. Its plurals are ayman and aymanat, and it is feminine as is well known. The oath in law: among the Hanafis, al-Qunawi reports that it is the confirmation of a statement and its authentication by mentioning Allah's name or one of His attributes, exalted be He. Among the Malikis, Ibn 'Arfa said: the oath is an oath or a delegated engagement not intended for nearness to Allah, or what is made obligatory by a declarative act that does not require acceptance, and made conditional upon a thing whose absence is intended.
The authentication of what was not rationally obligatory, by mentioning Allah's name or His attribute.
In language: strength.
In language: strength. In the law: the strengthening of one of the two poles of an information by mentioning Allah, exalted be He, or by conditioning; an oath without Allah is but the mention of the condition and the sanction. Its plural is al-ayman, and the oath is also the opposite of the left, for the side and the limb.
﴿أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا۟ إِلَىٰ مَا خَلَقَ ٱللَّهُ مِن شَىْءٍۢ يَتَفَيَّؤُا۟ ظِلَـٰلُهُۥ عَنِ ٱلْيَمِينِ وَٱلشَّمَآئِلِ سُجَّدًۭا لِّلَّهِ وَهُمْ دَٰخِرُونَ﴾
« Have they not considered what things Allah has created? Their shadows incline to the right and to the left, prostrating to Allah, while they are humble. »
Surah النحل : 48
﴿يَوْمَ نَدْعُوا۟ كُلَّ أُنَاسٍۭ بِإِمَـٰمِهِمْ ۖ فَمَنْ أُوتِىَ كِتَـٰبَهُۥ بِيَمِينِهِۦ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ يَقْرَءُونَ كِتَـٰبَهُمْ وَلَا يُظْلَمُونَ فَتِيلًۭا﴾
« [Mention, O Muhammad], the Day We will call forth every people with their record [of deeds]. Then whoever is given his record in his right hand - those will read their records, and injustice will not be done to them, [even] as much as a thread [inside the date seed]. »
Surah الإسراء : 71
﴿۞ وَتَرَى ٱلشَّمْسَ إِذَا طَلَعَت تَّزَٰوَرُ عَن كَهْفِهِمْ ذَاتَ ٱلْيَمِينِ وَإِذَا غَرَبَت تَّقْرِضُهُمْ ذَاتَ ٱلشِّمَالِ وَهُمْ فِى فَجْوَةٍۢ مِّنْهُ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ ءَايَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ ۗ مَن يَهْدِ ٱللَّهُ فَهُوَ ٱلْمُهْتَدِ ۖ وَمَن يُضْلِلْ فَلَن تَجِدَ لَهُۥ وَلِيًّۭا مُّرْشِدًۭا﴾
« And [had you been present], you would see the sun when it rose, inclining away from their cave on the right, and when it set, passing away from them on the left, while they were [laying] within an open space thereof. That was from the signs of Allah. He whom Allah guides is the [rightly] guided, but he whom He leaves astray - never will you find for him a protecting guide. »
Surah الكهف : 17
﴿وَتَحْسَبُهُمْ أَيْقَاظًۭا وَهُمْ رُقُودٌۭ ۚ وَنُقَلِّبُهُمْ ذَاتَ ٱلْيَمِينِ وَذَاتَ ٱلشِّمَالِ ۖ وَكَلْبُهُم بَـٰسِطٌۭ ذِرَاعَيْهِ بِٱلْوَصِيدِ ۚ لَوِ ٱطَّلَعْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ لَوَلَّيْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِرَارًۭا وَلَمُلِئْتَ مِنْهُمْ رُعْبًۭا﴾
« And you would think them awake, while they were asleep. And We turned them to the right and to the left, while their dog stretched his forelegs at the entrance. If you had looked at them, you would have turned from them in flight and been filled by them with terror. »
Surah الكهف : 18
﴿وَمَا تِلْكَ بِيَمِينِكَ يَـٰمُوسَىٰ﴾
« And what is that in your right hand, O Moses?" »
Surah طه : 17
﴿وَأَلْقِ مَا فِى يَمِينِكَ تَلْقَفْ مَا صَنَعُوٓا۟ ۖ إِنَّمَا صَنَعُوا۟ كَيْدُ سَـٰحِرٍۢ ۖ وَلَا يُفْلِحُ ٱلسَّاحِرُ حَيْثُ أَتَىٰ﴾
« And throw what is in your right hand; it will swallow up what they have crafted. What they have crafted is but the trick of a magician, and the magician will not succeed wherever he is." »
Surah طه : 69
This term appears in 23 verses of the Quran.