Chapter on the Obligatory Elements and Manner of Ablution

The term “obligatory elements” is the plural of “obligation.” Although the rule among grammarians is that a verbal noun is neither pluralized nor put in the dual form, it has been pluralized here in view of the plurality of these elements, or on the assumption that the verbal noun carries the sense of a passive participle—that is, the prescribed elements of ablution.

In linguistic usage, farḍ conveys meanings whose basic sense is incision and cutting. An incision is a cut without separation, whereas cutting is an incision accompanied by separation.

In the Sacred Law, according to most scholars, farḍ is synonymous with wājib (obligatory): that is, whatever has been commanded in a binding manner. In other words, Allah has commanded it while binding us to perform it.

Its ruling is that one who performs it in compliance with the command is rewarded, while one who abandons it deserves punishment.

According to Abu Hanifah, farḍ is that which is established by evidence definitive both in its transmission and its indication.

A wājib is that which is established by evidence whose transmission or indication is speculative (1).

They illustrate this with reciting some portion of the Quran: it is obligatory in prayer, due to the saying of Allah, Most High:

“So recite whatever is easy for you of the Quran.” [al-Muzzammil 73:20]

Reciting al-Fatihah is obligatory, but it is not termed a farḍ, because the evidence for its recitation consists of solitary reports; and according to many scholars of legal theory and others, solitary reports yield only probability.