Discover the meaning of the term Al-ẓhar (ظهار) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 3 min readIt is likening one's wife, or the expression referring to her, or a common part of her, to a limb whose sight is forbidden among the limbs of forbidden kin, by descent or suckling, such as his mother, daughter or sister.
With kasra, of zahr. In language: in the sense of aiding, as outward claiming in the sense of mutual help; one says: he pronounced the zihar of his wife, and vaunted himself by her against her: that is, he said to her: you are to me as my mother's back; the object is governed including the sense of distance. In al-Bahr al-Ra'iq, commentary on Kanz al-Daqa'iq: zihar, in language, is a masdar of zaha_ra his wife when he said to her: you are to me as my mother's back, so in al-Sahah; and in al-Misbah it is said that was specified to the mention of the back because the beast's back is the place of the mount, and the woman is ridden at the time of frenzy; riding the mother is thus borrowed from riding the beast, then riding the wife was likened to riding the mother, which is forbidden: a fine metaphor, as if he said: mounting for marriage is forbidden me. And zihar was a divorce in the Jahiliyya.
In language, with kasra of the emphatic za: its derivation is from zahr as masdar: zaha_ra of his wife is a mufa'ala form of zahr; so it is valid that different senses be meant by it.
Likening the legally obligated woman whom divorce has not made final, or a part of her, to a forbidden female limb, never lawful to him.
Liken one's wife, or the expression referring to her, or a common part, to a limb whose sight is forbidden among the limbs of forbidden kin; it is said that was specified to the word back because the beast's back is the mount's place, and the woman is ridden at the time of frenzy; riding the mother is borrowed from riding the beast, then riding was likened.
It is likening one's wife, or the expression referring to her, or a common part of her, to a limb whose sight is forbidden among the limbs of forbidden kin, by descent or suckling, such as his mother, daughter or sister.