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Craft, trade (ihtiraf)

احتراف

Ihtiraf is practising a trade by which one earns a living and makes it one's habit. Jurists distinguish it from work, which is wider, and from earning, which is also wider; a craft with tools is called sina'a. 1 Keeping up the crafts is a communal duty, so supplying craftsmen is an obligation, and the ruler may compel craftsmen who refuse to work at the fair rate. 2 3 One who finds no gain in a trade should move to another after three tries, on reports from 'Umar and Ibn 'Umar. 2

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At a glance

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

Summary

Ihtiraf is practising a trade by which one earns a living and makes it one's habit. Jurists distinguish it from work, which is wider, and from earning, which is also wider; a craft with tools is called sina'a. 1 Keeping up the crafts is a communal duty, so supplying craftsmen is an obligation, and the ruler may compel craftsmen who refuse to work at the fair rate. 2 3 One who finds no gain in a trade should move to another after three tries, on reports from 'Umar and Ibn 'Umar. 2

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.1719
  2. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.1721
  3. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.1722
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Craft, trade (ihtiraf)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/ihtiraf/. 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.