Al-Wajib al-Kifa'i: Difference between revisions

'''Al-Wajib al-Kifa'i''' (Arabic: {{ia|الواجب الكفائي}}) (collective compulsory act) is a kind of [[compulsory]] religious act that addresses no specific person and if it is performed by some duty-bound ([[mukallaf]]) [[Muslim]]s, the others will no longer held accountable. [[Burial|Burying]] a dead, [[enjoining good and forbidding evil]] (al-amr bi-l-ma'ruf wa al-nahy 'an al-munkar) and [[defensive Jihad]] are some examples of al-wajib al-kifa'i. Al-wajib al-kifa'i is the opposite of [[al-wajib al-'ayni]] (individual compulsory act).

Al-wajib al-kifa'i is a compulsory religious act, the purpose of which is to have that act done with no regard for the specific individuals performing it. Put differently, al-wajib al-kifa'i addresses all Muslims in a same manner; thus, if some Muslims undertake the wajib, the others will no longer held accountable. Al-wajib al-kifa'i is the opposite of al-wajib al-'ayni, in which every individual must perform the compulsory act, such as: [[Salat]]. The performer of al-wajib al-kifa'i receives the [[reward]] for perfoming it, but if no one undertakes al-wajib al-kifa'i, all will held accountable as they have committed a [[sin]] by leaving this wajib.  

The cases of al-wajib al-kifa'i are related to society's general interests, i.e. to have the act performed is the most important point in al-wajib al-kifa'i; unlike the case of al-wajib al-'ayni, in which performing the act by every individual is required. [[ghusl al-mayyit]], [[Shroud|shrouding]] the dead, performing [[Salat al-Mayyit|salat al-mayyit]], cleaning [[Masjid]] from [[Najis]], [[enjoining good and forbidding evil]] (al-amr bi-l-ma'ruf wa al-nahy 'an al-munkar), surviving the life of someone who is in danger and studying [[theology]] and other branches of Islamic studies are some examples of al-wajib al-kifa'i.

* General: A collective compulsory act that all Muslims can do, such as ghusl al-mayyit and enjoining good and forbidding evil. This type is compulsory on every duty-bound (mukallaf) Muslim.

* Particular: A collective compulsory act that only a special group of Muslims can perform, such as: treatment of patients, issuing [[fatwa]]s and [[judging]], which are respectively compulsory on doctors, faqihs and judges.  

Scholar of [[usul al-fiqh]] (principles of jurisprudence) maintain that Divine orders address every individual duty-bound person; thus every individual must perform His orders. Accordingly, when we are doubtful about a [[wajib]], whether it is al-kifa'i or al-'ayni, it will be considered al-'ayni.