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Aqta' (one who has lost a hand or foot)

الأقطع

Aqta' in the lexical sense means one with a cut-off hand; in the jurists' usage, one who has lost a hand or a foot. 1 Such a person is excused from communal jihad, does not wash the lost limb, and some jurists consider the loss a defect in a prayer leader. 1

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Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Global / Diaspora
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Definition

Aqta' in the lexical sense means a person with a cut-off hand. In the jurists' usage it refers to someone who has lost a hand or a foot, and to work that is incomplete or of little blessing. 1

Ruling and related matters

  • A report says: every affair not begun with the basmala is aqta'. The chain is weak, according to Ibn Hajar as reported by al-Manawi. 1
  • A person who has lost a hand or foot is excused from jihad where it is a communal duty, and some jurists treat certain diseases of the hand or foot as an excuse to avoid fighting. 1
  • Someone who has lost a limb does not wash that limb in ablution or bathing. 1
  • Losing a hand or foot is a defect in a prayer leader, so some jurists disliked his leading and some forbade it. 1
  • Retaliation and the penalty for theft in cases involving such a person are treated in their own entries. 1

People and things also explored

The mute person (abkam) in fiqh· Alsagh (one with a speech defect, and its rulings)· Blindness (ama): capacity, worship, testimony and contract· One-eyed defect ('awar) and its effect on sacrifice, marriage, manumission and injury· Shihab al-Din Ibn Hajji al-Hisbani· My Name Is Khan· The Color of Paradise

Sources

  1. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3226
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Aqta' (one who has lost a hand or foot)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/aqta/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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The mute person (abkam) in fiqh

The Kuwaiti encyclopedia defines the mute person (abkam) as one who has the condition of dumbness, which is the absence of speech. Lexicographers distinguish the abkam, who has speech but cannot give an answer, from the akhras, one born unable to speak; the jurists in their usage do not distinguish between them. Since the mute lacks the means of expression by the tongue, the Encyclopedia says he is held to intention and to moving the tongue, or murmuring, in acts of worship such as prayer, reciting the Qur'an and the talbiya; the Malikis accept intention alone. In other matters he must express himself in writing, if he writes well, and otherwise by an intelligible sign, as in sales, transactions and testimony. In hudud punishments his confession against himself and his testimony against others are not accepted, because a doubt averts such punishments.