Hajb
/ˈhædʒb/noun
In Islamic inheritance law, hajb is the exclusion or reduction of an heir’s share because another heir has priority.
Did you know?The Arabic root ḥ-j-b also produced hijab, whose original sense is a barrier or veil—linking spiritual concealment with legal exclusion.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*ḥ-j-b
“To cover, conceal, or separate; reconstructed ancestral root”
Ancient Arabic
Arabic
ḥajaba
“He concealed, screened, or prevented access”
Qur'anic Arabic
Arabic
ḥijāb
“A barrier, partition, or veil”
Medieval Islamic law
Arabic
ḥajb
“Exclusion or reduction of an heir’s inheritance by another heir”
Modern English
English
hajb
“A technical Islamic-law term for inheritance exclusion or blocking”