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Imsak (holding, restraint and abstention in fiqh)

الإمساك

Imsak in the lexical sense is holding and restraining. Jurists use it in several places: the hunter's dog holding its prey; the faster's abstention from what breaks the fast; one who holds a victim while another kills in a retaliation case; and taking back a divorced wife. 12 The jurists differ on eating from game that a trained dog has killed and then eaten from. 2 One who broke the fast in the belief that it was a day of Sha'ban, and learns it was Ramadan, must abstain for the rest of the day; the holder in a killing and the return by intimacy are disputed. 234

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Global / Diaspora
Review
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Halal and haram

Definition

Imsak in the lexical sense is grasping with the hand; one may also say "I refrained from the matter", meaning I held back. Jurists use it in several places in both senses. 1

Kinds

  • Holding game: the trained hunting dog holds the prey for its master and does not eat it. The majority forbid the game if the dog ate from it, citing the verse on what trained hounds hold for you and the hadith of Adi ibn Hatim (may God be pleased with him), "if it eats, do not eat, for I fear it held it for itself"; Malik and a view of Ahmad do not make holding a condition. 12
  • Abstention in fasting: holding back from eating, drinking and intercourse under the conditions is the fast; one who broke the fast thinking it was a day of Sha'ban, and learns it was Ramadan, must abstain for the rest of the day. 2
  • Those whose excuse ends during Ramadan, such as a child who reaches puberty, a sick person who recovers or a traveller who returns: the Malikis, the preferred Shafi'i view and one Hanbali view do not require abstention, while the Hanafis, the second Shafi'i view and another Hanbali view do. 23
  • Holding in a killing: whoever holds a man while another kills him is not retaliated against in the Hanafi and Shafi'i views, but Malik and a view of Ahmad retaliate against him. 3
  • Holding in divorce: in the majority view, holding is a form of taking back a revocable divorcee, so saying "I held you" is a return. 34

People and things also explored

Akl (eating: lawful food and manners)· The divine method: commands and prohibitions· Prohibition of misappropriating spoils (ghulul)· Hadi (the whitish fluid before childbirth: its ruling on ablution and purity)· Hadm (demolition, real and legal)· Hady (animal offered to the Sacred Precinct)· Halak (destruction of property and its legal effect)· Himyan (money belt: pilgrim's wearing, spoils and theft)

Sources

  1. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3393
  2. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3394
  3. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3395
  4. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3396
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Imsak (holding, restraint and abstention in fiqh)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/imsak/. 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

Akl (eating: lawful food and manners)

Eating is part of the faith: forbidden food is warned against, and the forbidden foods are known from the text and the Sunna. Eating has rulings that vary by need: obligatory up to what keeps life, required for prayer and fasting, recommended for earning and learning, permitted up to satiety, and forbidden beyond it. It is recommended for the one who sacrifices to eat from his sacrifice; the jurists differ on a sacrifice that was vowed. For expiations the Shafi'is and Hanbalis require transfer of ownership, while the Hanafis accept enabling the needy to eat. Manners include saying the basmala, eating with the right hand and from what is nearest, not blaming food, and not reclining while eating. A person in necessity may eat the forbidden only enough to keep alive. Eating from another's orchard or field without leave is allowed only under conditions.