Farḍ (Arabic:فرض) orfarīḍah (فريضة) orfardh inIslam is a religiousduty commanded byGod. The word is also used inTurkish,Persian,Pashto,Urdu,Hindi,Bangla (spelled farz or faraz), andMalay (spelled fardu or fardhu) in the same meaning.Muslims who obey such commands or duties are said to receivehasanat (حسنة),ajr (أجر) orthawab (ثواب) for each good deed.
Fard or its synonymwājib (واجب) is one of the five types ofahkam (أحكام) into whichfiqh categorizes acts of every Muslim. TheHanafi fiqh, however, does not consider both terms to be synonymous, and makes a distinction betweenwajib andfard, the latter being obligatory and the former slightly lesser degree than being obligatory.[1][2]
Individual duty orfarḍ al-'ayn (فرض العين) is a personal requirement that each person is expected to fulfill on their own, such as daily prayer (salat), and the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime if the person can afford the journey (hajj).[3] An individual not performing this will be punished in the afterlife (but can be excused on basis of incapability), but if he enjoins and fulfils its necessity will be rewarded.[4]
Sufficiency duty orfarḍ al-kifāya (فرض الكفاية) is a duty which is imposed on the whole community of believers (ummah). The classic example for it isjanaza (funeral prayer): the individual is not required to perform it as long as a sufficient number of community members fulfill it.[5]
