Infisal (separation of parts of the body, of the foetus and of the spouses, and its rulings)

الانفصال

Infisal is lexically cutting off, the reflexive of fasl, and the opposite of joining, whether visibly or not. ¹ Some parts change their ruling on separation: what is forbidden to look at before it separates remains forbidden after, and some jurists wash, pray over and bury what separates from a dead body. ¹ A miscarriage born alive and then dying takes the ruling of an adult; one born dead is not prayed over but buried. ² One who is born dead does not inherit, by agreement. ² Spouses are separated by dissolution, by divorce, or by death. ²

Definition

Infisal is lexically cutting off, the reflexive of fasl and the opposite of joining; it may be visible or hidden. ¹

Related term

Bayna, separation, which is used mainly of a divorce that is not revocable. ¹

Parts that separate

What is forbidden to look at before separation remains forbidden after it, such as the private parts. ¹
A woman who takes in a severed male member incurs no hadd punishment, though the act is forbidden. ¹
Parts separated from a dead body are washed, prayed over and buried by some jurists, citing the practice of the Companions; Abu Hanifa and Malik hold that the prayer is made only if most of the body is present. ¹
The Shafi'is recommend wrapping and burying what separates from a living person, such as a hand, a nail, hair or a clot. ¹²

Miscarriage and birth

A miscarriage born alive and then dying takes the ruling of an adult in naming, inheritance, retaliation, washing, prayer and burial; some Malikis exclude naming before the seventh day. ²
One born dead is not prayed over but is buried; the washing and shrouding are disputed. ²
One born dead does not inherit, by agreement; the Hanafis hold that one separated by a blow from a wrongdoer inherits, by the rule of the ghurra. ²

Separation of spouses

It happens by one of three things: dissolution or its effect, divorce, or death. ²

Separation in an exception

If the excepted matter is separated from the rest for a long time in an acknowledgement or oath, the exception is void; some say it is valid while the session continues. ²

Bone (adhm): purity, use and retaliation

In the lexicon, adhm is the bone that has flesh on it, plural 'idham and 'izam. Most jurists hold that a human bone is pure, whether living or dead, of a Muslim or not; that a fish bone stays pure after death; and that the bone of a lawfully slaughtered edible animal is pure and may be used. The bone of carrion, or of a non-edible animal, is impure according to the Malikis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis and Ishaq, and cannot be purified; the Hanafis hold it pure, and 'Umar disliked oiling in ivory. On cleansing after excretion with a bone, the Shafi'is and Hanbalis forbid it; the Hanafis dislike it as forbidden but accept that it suffices; the Malikis forbid a carrion bone and allow a pure bone with disapproval. Most jurists allow retaliation for a bone only at a joint, since equality cannot be achieved elsewhere.

Infisal (separation of parts of the body, of the foetus and of the spouses, and its rulings)

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