View source for Urf

{{Short description|Arabic Islamic term meaning societal custom or knowledge}}
{{other uses|URF (disambiguation)}}
{{italic title|reason=[[:Category:Arabic words and phrases]]}}
{{Usul al-Fiqh}}

'''{{Transliteration|ar|ʿUrf}}''' ({{langx|ar|العرف}}) is an [[Arabic]] [[Islam]]ic term referring to the custom, or 'knowledge', of a given society. It can also be translated as [[customary law]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=2003 |title=Urf |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803114920610 |encyclopedia=[[The Oxford Dictionary of Islam]] |editor-last=Esposito |editor-first=John L. |editor-link=John Esposito |location=[[Oxford]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |access-date=19 November 2025}}</ref> To be recognized in an Islamic society, {{Transliteration|ar|ʿurf}} must in principle be compatible with [[Sharia]],<ref name="H. Patrick Glenn 2007, pg. 201">H. Patrick Glenn, ''Legal Traditions of the World''. [[Oxford University Press]], 2007, pg. 201.</ref> but in practice tensions sometimes exist between the representatives of {{Transliteration|ar|ʿurf}} and those of Sharia.<ref name=brandt>{{cite book |last=Brandt |first=Marieke |date=2024 |title=Tribes and Politics in Yemen: A History of the Houthi Conflict |location=London |publisher=[[C. Hurst & Co.|Hurst]] |page=20 |isbn=9781911723424}}</ref> When applied, it can lead to the deprecation or inoperability of a certain aspect of [[fiqh]] (Islamic [[jurisprudence]]).<ref name="H. Patrick Glenn 2007, pg. 201" />

{{Transliteration|ar|ʿUrf}} is a source of Islamic legal rulings where there are no explicit primary texts of the [[Qur'an and Sunnah]] specifying the ruling, making it a form of [[customary law]]. {{Transliteration|ar|ʿUrf}} can also specify something generally established in the primary texts.

==Overview==
;Terminology
The term {{Transliteration|ar|'ʿurf'}}, meaning "to know", refers to the customs and practices of a given society.

;History
{{Transliteration|ar|ʿUrf}} was first recognized by [[Abu Yusuf]] (d. 182/798), an early leader of the [[Hanafi|Ḥanafī]] [[madhhab|school]], though it was considered part of the {{Transliteration|ar|sunnah}}, i.e genuine and not a formal source. Later [[Al-Sarakhsi|al-Sarakhsī]] (d. 483/1090) opposed it, holding that custom cannot prevail over a written text.<ref name="UrfEI" />

;Scriptural basis
The "maxim" that custom is an authoritative source for Islamic law "appears in the Quran and Hadith." One hadith narrated by Ibn Mas'ud stated 'Whatever the Muslim saw as good is [considered] good by God, and whatever the Muslim saw as evil is evil according to God.'" <ref name="IL&E-92">{{cite book | title=Islamic Law and Ethics |chapter=The Application of Maqasid al-Shariah in Islamic Chaplaincy |page=92 |editor=David R. Vishanoff |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YjT-DwAAQBAJ&q=ethical+codes+unique+to+islam |author=Kamal Abu-Shamsieh |date=2020 |publisher=IIIT |isbn=978-1-64205-346-3 |access-date=2 March 2022}}</ref>

==Relationship to Sharia==
Although this was not formally included in Islamic law,<ref name="UrfEI">"Urf", ''Encyclopaedia of Islam''</ref> the Sharia recognizes customs that prevailed at the time of [[Muhammad]] but were not abrogated by the [[Qur'an]] or the [[Sunnah]] (called "Divine Silence"). Practices later innovated are also justified, since Islamic tradition says what the people, in general, consider good is also considered as such by [[Allah]] (see [[God in Islam]]). According to some sources, {{Transliteration|ar|ʿurf}} holds as much authority as {{Transliteration|ar|[['ijma]]}} (consensus), and more than {{Transliteration|ar|[[qiyas]]}} (legal reasoning by analogy). {{Transliteration|ar|ʿUrf}} is the Islamic equivalent of "[[common law]]".<ref name="Urf">Hasan (2004), p. 169-71</ref>

In the application of {{Transliteration|ar|ʿurf}}, custom that is accepted into law should be commonly prevalent in the region, not merely in an isolated locality. If it is in absolute opposition to Islamic texts, custom is disregarded. However, if it is in opposition to {{Transliteration|ar|qiyas}}, custom is given preference. [[Faqīh|Jurists]] also tend to, with caution, give precedence to custom over doctoral opinions of highly esteemed scholars.<ref name="Urf" />

In some countries such as [[Egypt]], marriage in the {{Transliteration|ar|ʿurfi}} way refers to a form of [[common law marriage]] that does not involve obtaining official papers issued by the state ({{lang|ar|زواج عرفي}} {{Transliteration|ar|Zawāj ʿUrfi}}). The validity of that type of marriage is still under debate, and women may have fewer rights than under an officially-registered marriage.<ref>[http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab8910.html Egypt: Customary marriage] refworld.org</ref>

In parts of [[Yemen]] where {{Transliteration|ar|ʿurf}} plays a significant role (related to the continuing [[Tribes of Yemen|influence of tribal lineages]] in the country), it often coexists with Sharia. However, {{Transliteration|ar|ʿurf}} is promoted by the tribal [[sheikh]]s, whereas Sharia judges are either [[Qadi|qāḍīs]] or [[Sayyid|sādah]]. Due to this different sociopolitical basis, the actual relationship between both legal phenomena varies from tribe to tribe. They can be seen as fully compatible or as two competing systems.<ref name=brandt/> Historically, the [[Zaydism|Zaydi]] [[Imams of Yemen]] often entered in conflict with local jurisdictions. In some cases they struck an agreement to separate the two jurisdictions by applying Sharia to "personal status matters" and {{Transliteration|ar|ʿurf}} to tribal matters.<ref>{{cite book |last=Al-Zwaini |first=Laila |date=September 2012 |title=The Rule of Law in Yemen: Prospects and Challenges |url=https://www.hiil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Rule-of-Law-in-Yemen.pdf |location=The Hague |publisher=The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law |page=54 |access-date=19 November 2025}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Ma'ruf]]
* [[Adat]]
* [[Sources of Islamic law]]
* [[List of Islamic terms in Arabic]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book
  | last = Hasan
  | first = Abrar
  | author-link = Abrar Hasan
  | title = Principles of modern Islamic jurisprudence
  | publisher = Pakistan Academy of Jurists
  | year = 2004
  | location = [[Karachi]]
}}
* Libson, G.; Stewart, F.H. "ʿUrf." [[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2008. [[Brill Online]]. 10 April 2008

[[Category:Arabic words and phrases in Sharia]]
[[Category:Marriage in Islam]]
[[Category:Common-law marriage]]
[[Category:Islamic jurisprudence]]


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