Discover the meaning of the term Al-ḥẓr (حظر) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 2 min readIt is what one is rewarded for leaving and punished for doing.
Prevention; in the Law: what one is rewarded for leaving and punished for doing. From it: 'necessities render forbidden things lawful.'
In language: gathering a thing into an animal pen (hazira); al-mahzur: the forbidden; the root of hazr is prevention. 'Ja'a fulan bi-l-hazri r-ratbi'; ar-ratb: disgusting falsehood; al-hazira: what is made of branches as shelter for camels and sheep; plural: haza'ir; and al-hazira with the dotted ta': the wall enclosing an orchard. As a technical term: what one is rewarded for leaving and punished for doing.
(Al-Matali', p. 375; Ghurar al-maqala, p. 220; At-Tawqif, p.
284; al-Thamar ad-Dani, p. 246; At-Ta'rifat, p. 79).
Al-hifaf, with kasra of the ha: masdar of 'haffa l-mar'atu wajhaha min ash-sha'r tahfuhu haffan wa-hifafan' (the woman plucked her face of hair); likewise 'ihtaffat'; what is forbidden to the pilgrim in ihram is only plucking the facial hair, while plucking (haff) and shaving (halaq) are permitted. Among the senses of al-haff is removal; one says: 'haffa l-lihyata yahfuhu' (he shaved the beard).
In language: gathering a thing into an animal pen; al-mahzur is the forbidden; 'ja'a fulan bi-l-hazri r-ratbi', that is, disgusting falsehood.
What one is rewarded for leaving and punished for doing. In 'Al-Maghrib': 'al-hazara is prevention, hence hazirat al-ibil (the camel pen), and al-mahzur is the opposite of the permitted.'