Reward or wage (ajr)

أجر

For jurists, ajr is the consideration for work, whether from God or from people, though a reward from God is a bounty. It also means the price of a benefit, whether of land or of a movable. 1 The Qur'an calls a woman's dowry an ajr, and what is given to a nurse for suckling is also called ajr. 1 The jurists treat questions of ajr for work and benefit within the lease. 1

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Global / Diaspora
Review
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Development of law, theology and institutions

Summary

For jurists, ajr is the consideration for work, whether it comes from God or from people, though a reward from God is a bounty. It also means the price of a benefit, whether of a building, such as lodging in a house, or of a movable, such as riding in a car. 1

Qur'anic usage

The Qur'an calls what is given to a nursing woman an ajr, and calls a woman's dowry an ajr. 1

Where the topic is treated

Jurists treat questions of ajr for work and benefit within the lease. 1

People and things also explored

Biting and the liability for injury it causes (add)· Justice and uprightness (adl)· Contagion (adwa)· Pardon (afw) in purity, worship, contracts and penalties· Covenant (ahd) and the duty to keep it; oath by the covenant of God· Term, deadline (ajal)· Hired worker (ajir)· Stranger, outsider (ajnabi)

Sources

  1. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.1592
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Reward or wage (ajr)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/ajr/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words.
Related

Biting and the liability for injury it causes (add)

In the lexicon, add is gripping a thing with the teeth and holding it. If a person bites another without right and a wound results, the biter must pay the damages for the wound, assessed as a just award by experts. If one man bites another's hand and the bitten man pulls it free so that the biter's front teeth fall out, most jurists hold that there is no liability, relying on a prophetic judgement in such a case; the Shafi'is limit this to a bitten man who chose the easiest means of release, and the preferred Maliki view requires compensation.