Section

If a bequest is made “to the people of my sikka,” it goes to the residents of that alley as they stand at the time of the bequest; and if it is made “to my neighbors,” it extends to forty houses in every direction.

The terms al-saghir, al-sabi1, al-ghulam, al-yafiʿ, and al-yatim all describe anyone who has not yet reached puberty. Al-mumayyiz is the child who has completed seven years, whereas al-tifl refers to one younger than seven. Al-murahiq is the adolescent approaching puberty. Al-shabb or al-fata applies to a young person from puberty up to the age of thirty2; al-kahl spans the years from thirty to fifty; and al-shaykh covers fifty to seventy—beyond that comes advanced old age (haram).

Al-ayyim and al-ʿazib3 denote anyone—male4 or female—who is without a spouse. Al-bikr is the person who has never married, while a rajul thayyib and an imraʾah thayyibah refer to a man and a woman who have previously been married. Thuyubah is the loss of virginity, even if it occurs outside of marriage.