Ta'yin (specification of an object, intention or term)

التعيين

Ta'yin (specification) is in language singling out a thing from its like, and in law making a thing distinct so that nothing shares it; its opposite is ibham (vagueness). ^{1 2} In the usulis' usage it contrasts with choice among obligations: a specified obligation such as the noon prayer, and a vague one among a set number of options, such as the expiations for an oath; the Mu'tazila denied an obligation of choice. ² A compulsory prayer must be named in intention as noon or afternoon; the follower must intend to follow an imam but need not name him, and for the Hanafis a wrongly named imam invalidates the prayer. Naming the optional prayers is disputed. ² Most jurists require the fast of Ramadan, a make-up fast, an expiation or a vow to be named in intention; the Hanafis and one Hanbali view allow a general intention for Ramadan. ³ In a sale, the currency most common in the town is taken as specified when one prevails; when several prevail, the currency must be named in words; when they are equal, the sale is valid without naming. The term must be named in a salam, and most jurists require the place of delivery when it has burden. ^{3 4} A sale needs a known object and known price: a sheep from a flock, or a price by value, by another's ruling, or at what people sell, is not valid, and the Hanafis count this as defective but correctable at the session. ⁴ On whether a specified coin is bound by specification in the contract, the Shafiis and Hanbalis say yes, the Hanafis and Malikis say no. ⁴ The Hanafi option of specification: one buys one of two or three garments, the buyer choosing later; four are not allowed, and the contract must say so. The Shafiis and Hanbalis void such a sale for uncertainty. ^{4 5} The salam object may not be specified but must be a debt, since a specified object may perish before delivery; a salam in the fruit of a named orchard is void, as Ibn al-Mundhir reports the consensus, following the report about the Jews of Banu Qaynuqa. ⁵ An agent bound to a named buyer or a named time or place must keep to it, unless the principal had no interest in it. ^{5 6} A lease must specify the kind of benefit and its term; some early jurists allowed leasing unknowns. ⁶ If a man says one of my two wives is divorced and intends one, that wife is divorced, and he must specify. ⁶ A claim must specify the thing claimed: an animal's sex, age, colour and kind, or a sum's kind, quantity and description. ⁶