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Capital (ra's al-mal): the principal sum without profit

رأس المال (في الفقه)

Capital (ra's al-mal) in the lexicon is the principal of money without profit or increase, the whole sum put into an enterprise. 1 The jurists mention it in zakat, partnership, mudaraba, salam, usury, loan, trust sales, murabaha, tawliya and hitta, and its rules are found in those places. 1

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Early Abbasid Caliphate
Region
Global / Diaspora
Review
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Law and courts

Summary

Capital (ra's al-mal) in the lexicon is the principal of money without profit or increase: the whole sum put into an enterprise. 1

Where it is discussed

The jurists mention the term in zakat, partnership, mudaraba, salam, usury, loan, trust sales, murabaha, tawliya and hitta, and its rules are treated in those places. 1

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.8530
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Capital (ra's al-mal): the principal sum without profit”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/ras-al-mal-fiqh/. 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

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.