Islam > Glossary > Al-iakhtiṣaar
Discover the meaning of the term Al-iakhtiṣaar (اخْتِصَار) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 1 min readReduction of wording with abundance of meaning.
From iqtasarta al-tariq: taking the nearest approach; from this comes the ikhtisar of speech, whose reality is confining oneself to lessening wording without the meaning. Shortening the prostration was forbidden. Al-Azhari said: it bears two interpretations: first, abbreviating the verse containing the prostration and prostrating by it; second, reciting the sura and, on reaching the prostration verse, passing beyond it without prostrating.
The ikhtisar of speech is its brevity: lessening wording with abundance of meaning (al-Misbah al-Munir 1/233; al-Mu'jam al-Wasit 1/246; Mukhtar al-Sihah, p. 177; al-Dustur of Ahmad Bakri, p. 51; al-Kulliyyat, p.
60, 159; Tahdhib al-Asma' wa-l-Lughat, p. 90-91).
From ikhtasara ikhtisaran: "the speech": to abridge it or omit part of it (English glosses: summing, summarization). "So-and-so iqtasara": he placed his hand upon his hip.