By Shaykh Zahir Mahmood Fard and Wājib While the majority of jurists regard fard and wājib as synonymous, the Hanafis draw a clear distinction between the two. Ishāq ibn Ibrahim al-Shāshi, in defining the two, states, “Linguistically fard means to decree, whilst in the Sharī`ah it denotes that which is delineated in such a manner that no increase or decrease is possible. The command of a fard is communicated by a definite (qat‘ī) text wherein there is no ambiguity, clear and specific. To act upon it and to believe in it is binding… Wājib technically means that which is established by a…