Shart
Shart names something required for an act to count, standing outside the act itself rather than forming one of its essential parts.
What it means for me: Shart tells you what has to be true before or during an act for it to count. Missing one does not mean a part is missing from the act itself, only that a requirement was not met.
Example: A scholar says, 'reaching a set age is a shart for this duty, not a rukn of it.' The listener understands: without it, the duty is not yet binding, though the act itself would have no missing part.
Do not confuse with: Rukn, pillar. A missing rukn means part of the act itself is gone. A missing shart means the act cannot yet take effect, even though its parts are complete.
If scholars differ: Legal theorists commonly divide conditions into three kinds: of obligation, of validity, and of completeness. Jurists can differ on whether a specific requirement is a shart, a rukn, or merely recommended. This distinction is discussed further in know the ruling before you sign.
See the term in context
Does the legality of a Bay' al-Wafa' transaction change if the return of the sold item is conditioned upon a promise from the buyer to the seller to return the sold item when the seller repays the price, taking into account the differences between a condition (shart) and a promise (wa'd)?
Bay' al-Wafa' (sale of fulfillment), also known as Bay' al-Amanah (sale of trust), al-Mu'amalah (transaction), or al-Ita'ah (obedience), is when a person in need sells an immovable property or a movable asset that can…
What is the secret behind the difference between Surahs Yunus and An-Nahl in affirming the particle "fa'" (ف) in the apodosis (jawab ash-shart) in the verse: "If their term comes, they will not be delayed" (إذا جاء أجلهم فلا يستأخرون), while not affirming it in the verse: "So when their term comes, they will not be delayed" (فإذا جاء أجلهم لا يستأخرون)?
There is a discrepancy between Surat Al-A'raf, Surat An-Nahl, and Surat Yunus. In Al-A'raf: {And for every nation is a term; so when their term comes, they will not remain behind for an hour, nor will they precede [it]}…
What is the difference between a condition (shart), a pillar (rukn), and a duty (wajib)?
A condition (shart) is that whose absence necessitates the absence of the conditioned thing (mashroot), but its existence does not necessitate anything by itself, and it is external to the essence (mahiyyah). A pillar…
Questions that use it
What are the implications, effects, and ramifications of considering the opening "Allahu Akbar" (Takbirat al-Ihram) a pillar (rukn) according to the majority of scholars, and a condition (shart) according to the Hanafis?
Is the concept of rescission (Iqālah) contradictory to or convergent with the penalty clause (Shart Jazāʾī) in sales, and what is the ruling on the penalty clause in Islamic Sharia?
What is the difference between a pillar (rukn) and a condition (shart) in prayer?