Kaffāra
Definition
Kaffara is the specific expiation that Islamic law requires for the violation of certain prohibitions — fasting, feeding the poor, freeing a slave (in the historical context), or other prescribed acts that compensate for specific transgressions. Al-Ghazali presents kaffara as part of Islam's comprehensive mercy: the law acknowledges human frailty and provides a mechanism for addressing it rather than leaving the believer in permanent guilt. However, he also warns against using the availability of kaffara as a psychological permission slip for repeated violation — the person who sins with the intention of making kaffara afterward has misunderstood both repentance and the divine mercy they are relying on.
As understood in the classical tradition of Imam al-Ghazali and the scholars of his school.
Appears in
1 book in the library
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