Discover the meaning of the term Da'wa (دعْوَة) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 2 min readWith fatha: the meal’s invitation; kasra, the da’wa of kinship; damma, the da’wa of combat and jihad therein.
Its root da’w; its sense passed. The da’wa, dal fatha: da’a’s occurrence, meaning: first, what invited to, food or drink; said: we are at so-and-so’s invitation: at his as guest. Second: islam’s call. (t. 2 terms-lexicon)
Lexically the invocation; fatha for food, kasra for kinship, damma war’s call and jihad. Da’wa among jurists general and particular: particular taken for a specific person, general not so.
Accusing a man’s child another’s father. Kinship, brotherhood. Ad-da’wa: the claim; said: so-and-so’s claim this: his word; in the mighty Revelation: « their claim, Our rigor coming them, was but saying: we were unjust » (al-A’raf 5), their word; plural da’awi, da’awayat, waw open preferred. In justice: speech whereby man requests establishing a right on another. In the Law: attributing self entitlement of something in another’s hand, or his debt, said Ibn Qoudama. In the Law: a word accepted before the judge intending seeking a right against other, or warding the opponent from one’s right, said at-Tamartachi. Among Malikits: information the informer profiting; and seeking, though before no ruler. In the Mejalla (art. 1613): seeking one’s right of another before the ruler; the seeker moudda’i, the sought moudda’a ’alayh. Ad-da’iyy: the adopted child; plural ad’iya’; in the noble Quran: « Allah set not two hearts within man, made not your wives you zihar your mothers, made not your adopted sons your sons: your words your mouths, Allah speaks truth, guides the way » (al-Ahzab 4). Al-moudda’a: he whose lineage contested. In the Mejalla (art. 1614): the thing the claimer claimed, also called moudda’a bihi.