Fard

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For the founder of the Nation of Islam, see Wallace Fard Muhammad.

Part of a series on the Usul al-fiqh
Fiqh
Qur'an and Sunnah Taqlid (imitation) Ijtihad (interpretation) madh'hab (school of law) Minhaj (method) Qiyas (analogical reasoning) Urf (society custom) Islamic jurisprudence Ijma (consensus) Bid‘ah (innovation) Madrasah (school/seminary) Ijazah (authorisation) Istihlal Istihsan Risalah
Ahkam
Halaal — legal Wajib/Fard — obligatory, duty Mustahab — favored Mubah — neutral Makruh — disliked, abominable Haraam — illegal, prohibited Baatil — void, incorrect Fasiq — corrupt
Scholarly titles
Marja — ... Ulema Khalifa Mufti Qadi Faqih Muhaddith Mullah Imam Mawlawi Sheikh Punjabi Shaikh Ayatollah Mujaddid Maulana This box: view • talk • edit

Fard (Arabic: الفرض) also farida (Arabic: الفريضة) is an Islamic term which denotes a religious duty. The word is also used in Persian, Urdu and Hindi (spelled farz) in the same meaning. A synonymous term is wajib.

Fard or its synonym wajib is one of the five types of Ahkam into which Fiqh categorizes acts of every Muslim. Hanafites however makes a distinction between Wajib and Fard, the latter being more obligatory than the former.^[1]^[2]

[edit] Individual duty and sufficiency

The Fiqh distinguishes two sorts of duties:

Individual duty or fard al-ayn (Arabic: الواجب العيني) relates to tasks every Muslim is required to perform, such as daily prayer (salah), hijab, or the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime (hajj).
Sufficiency duty or fard al-kifaya (Arabic: الواجب الكفائي) is a duty which is imposed on the whole community of believers (ummah). The classic example for it is jihad: the individual is not required to perform it as long as a sufficient number of community members fulfil it.

[edit] See also

Mitzvah (somewhat similar Jewish concept)
Dharma (Hindu/Buddhist/Sikh term that can be used to mean "duty" or "obligation", although there are also other meanings)