Individual Duty and Sufficiency
The Fiqh distinguishes two sorts of duties:
- Individual duty or fard al-'ayn (الفرض العين) relates to tasks every Muslim is required to perform, such as daily prayer (salah), or the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime (hajj).
- Sufficiency duty or fard al-kifāya (الفرض الكفاية) is a duty which is imposed on the whole community of believers (ummah). The classic example for it is janaza: the individual is not required to perform it as long as a sufficient number of community members fulfil it.
Read more about this topic: Fard
Famous quotes containing the words individual, duty and/or sufficiency:
“Nothing strengthens the judgment and quickens the conscience like individual responsibility. Nothing adds such dignity to character as the recognition of one’s self-sovereignty; the right to an equal place, everywhere conceded—a place earned by personal merit, not an artificial attainment by inheritance, wealth, family and position.”
—Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902)
“It is seldom very hard to do one’s duty when one knows what it is, but it is often exceedingly difficult to find this out.”
—Samuel Butler (1835–1902)
“The worthiest man to be known, and for a pattern to be presented to the world, he is the man of whom we have most certain knowledge. He hath been declared and enlightened by the most clear-seeing men that ever were; the testimonies we have of him are in faithfulness and sufficiency most admirable.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)