Kaffarah
/kəˈfɑː.rə/noun
In Islamic law, an act of expiation or atonement required for certain violations, such as breaking an oath or intentionally breaking a fast.
Did you know?Kaffarah is not simply private remorse: depending on the offense, classical Islamic law may prescribe feeding the poor, freeing a slave, or fasting as concrete expiation.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*k-p-r
“A reconstructed root associated with covering or concealing; later Semitic meanings developed toward denial and expiation.”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
kafara (كَفَرَ)
“To cover or conceal; in religious usage, to deny or reject faith.”
Quranic/Classical Arabic
Arabic
kaffārah (كَفَّارَة)
“An expiation or prescribed act that offsets a religious violation.”
Medieval Islamic jurisprudence
Arabic
kaffāra
“A legally defined act of atonement, including charity or fasting for specified offenses.”
19th–20th Century
English
kaffarah
“An English loanword for Islamic expiation or atonement.”
Modern English
English
kaffarah
“A religious act of compensation or expiation in Islam.”