Hirabah
/hɪˈrɑːbə/noun
In Islamic law, hirabah refers to violent banditry, armed robbery, or waging war against public order.
Did you know?The Qur’an uses the related verb for those who “wage war against God and His Messenger,” making hirabah one of Islamic law’s most severe categories of public violence.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*ḥarb-
“War or armed conflict; a reconstructed Semitic root”
Pre-Islamic Arabic
Arabic
ḥarb
“War, warfare, or armed hostilities”
7th Century
Quranic Arabic
ḥāraba
“To fight, wage war, or oppose violently”
7th–8th Century
Classical Arabic
ḥirābah
“Waging war against the community; violent brigandage or highway robbery”
Medieval Islamic law
Arabic
ḥirābah
“A legal category covering armed robbery, banditry, and terrorizing people in public spaces”
Modern English
English
hirabah
“A scholarly English transliteration of the Islamic legal term for violent banditry or public armed violence”