عزم

العَزْم

In the lexicon, azm is the resolve of the heart to act, and it also means patience and perseverance. As a technical term it is an inclination to a thing with a settled intention to do it ¹. Hamm is the first stage of azm, and azm is the end point of hamm ². The jurists agree that a person is not punished for evil thoughts that he neither acts on nor speaks, and that one who resolves on an evil and does not do it incurs no penalty, while a resolve on a good act is recorded as a good deed before it is done ^{2 3}. They differ on whether a firm resolve to commit a sin is itself punished: some say not, many scholars say yes ³. A firm resolve never to return to the sin is a condition of repentance ⁴. Related questions on resolving to perform a wide-time obligation or to abstain from what is forbidden are treated in the legal theory appendix ^{3 4}.