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Ilzam (imposing an obligation on another)

الإلزام

Ilzam is establishing and maintaining; it is making a thing binding on another, and it differs from iyjab (obligation by order) and ikrah (compulsion) and iltizam (binding oneself). 12 In principle one person may not impose on another, and compulsion comes from God or from the authority of the ruler, who must enforce the Law; whoever refuses a right owed to people is compelled to pay, and imposing injustice is forbidden. 23

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Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Global / Diaspora
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Law and courts

Definition

Ilzam is a verbal noun from lazima, which means to remain and last; alzamtu is to fix a thing and make it last; alzamtuhu al-mal is to impose the money on him so that he takes it on. 1 Al-Raghib says there are two kinds of ilzam: by God's or a person's compulsion, and by command or ruling. In either case it means making a thing binding on another. 1

Related terms

  • Iyjab: a thing becomes due, and one makes it due. Abu Hilal al-Askari said ilzam is used of both right and wrong, while iyjab is used only for what is right. 12
  • Ikrah and ijbar: compulsion by force. Ilzam may be by force or without it. 2
  • Iltizam: binding oneself to a good thing; ilzam falls on another. 2

Ruling

In principle one person may not impose on another, since that is domination. Imposition comes from God on His servants, and it may come from person to person by the authority that God gives, in the form of a rule of government. 2

  • The imam must make the people follow the law of Islam, and he may compel them by force to do what is obligatory and to leave what is forbidden. The Prophet is reported to have intended to burn the houses of those who stayed away from prayer, and Abu Bakr fought those who withheld zakat. 23
  • Whoever refuses a debt or other right owed to people is compelled to pay if this is possible, and jailed if not; a poor debtor is given time. 2
  • The imam may compel the people to a recommended custom such as the adhan, if the people of a town agree to leave it, and he fights them. 23
  • Imposing injustice is forbidden: there is no obedience to a creature in disobedience to the Creator. 3
  • Imposition may be permitted, as when a governor requires people to do some lawful thing for a public interest, or recommended, as when the imam requires the people to pray the tarawih in the mosques. 3
  • Contracts impose duties: the seller must deliver and the buyer must pay. 3

People and things also explored

Ahliyya (legal capacity: to have rights and duties, and to act; its stages from the womb to full maturity, and what impairs it)· Democracy and the Sharia — compatibility and conflict· Fatwa on the satellite channels — its benefit and harm· Secularism and Islam — conflict or concord· Stoning (rajm) as a penalty for zina· Allusion to a proposal during the waiting period· Aman (safe-conduct granted to enemies in war)· Amana (trust, deposit and what is entrusted)

Sources

  1. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3321
  2. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3322
  3. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3323
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Ilzam (imposing an obligation on another)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/ilzam/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Ahliyya (legal capacity: to have rights and duties, and to act; its stages from the womb to full maturity, and what impairs it)

Ahliyya is lexically suitability, and it is of two kinds: capacity to have rights and duties, the capacity of liability; and capacity to act, that is to perform acts recognised by the law. Its bearer passes through the stages of the foetus, childhood, discernment, puberty and maturity. Liability is complete from birth and incomplete for the foetus; the capacity to act is partial at discernment and full with puberty and reason. It is affected by heavenly impediments such as madness, imbecility, sleep, fainting, illness, slavery, menstruation, childbirth and death, and by acquired ones such as ignorance, drunkenness, jest, folly, travel, error and coercion.