Discover the meaning of the term Ashfq (أشفق) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 2 min readAshfaqa regarding him: to fear him and be wary of him; he is then mushfiq and shafiq. In the Noble Quran: 'Those who fear the punishment of their Lord' (Al-Ma'arij, 27). Ashfaqa for him: to feel tenderness and fear for him. Ash-shafaq: compassionate fear; the side, the direction; the worst of every thing; the redness appearing on the horizon at sunset, lasting from the setting until near the isha prayer; the whiteness, in the view of Tha'lab. The shafaq, which departs at the time of sunset and whose appearance is seen at the time of isha: it is the redness according to 'Umar, 'Ali, Ibn 'Umar, Ibn 'Abbas, 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit, Shaddad ibn Aws, 'Ata', Mujahid, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, al-Zuhri, al-Thawri, Ishaq and the Malikis; a view of the Hanafis, upon which practice and fatwa proceed; a view of the Shafi'is, which is the chosen position of the school; and likewise the Hanbalis, Zahiris, Ja'faris and Zaydis. It is the whiteness according to Anas, Mu'adh, a transmission from Ibn 'Abbas, a transmission from Abu Hurayrah, 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, al-Awza'i, a view of the Hanafis which is the more cautious (ahwat), a view of the Shafi'is, and a view of the Hanbalis, in the place where the horizon is hidden by mountains and buildings. Ash-shafaqah: mercy, tenderness, affection, compassion, or the fear that the exhortation be received ill, and the concern for improvement (of others).