عدلTwo opposed senses under one root: istiwāʾ — evenness, straightness, justice — against … (root dl)

Al-ʿadl (العدل): the one among people whose word and judgment are approved. [One says] hādhā ʿadl (هذا عدل), wa-hum ʿadl (وهم عدل) [repeated in the text], and if you say fa-hum ʿudūl (فهم عدول) according to the [plural] pattern, you [also] say humā ʿadlān (هما عدلان), and huwa ʿadl bayyin al-ʿadl (وهو عدل بين العدل). Al-ʿudūlah and al-ʿadl (العدولة والعدل): judging by truth. Zuhayr said: "Whenever a people quarrel and their nobles grow few, they are among us — so they are content, and they are just." One says huwa yaʿdilu (هو يعدل), i.e., he judges by truth and justice. He is a just judge (ḥakam ʿadl), possessing rectitude (dhū maʿdalah) in his ruling. ʿAdl of a thing (عدل الشيء): its counterpart — huwa ʿadl fulān (هو عدل فلان). ʿadaltu fulānan bi-fulānin aʿdiluhu bihi (وعدلت فلانا بفلان أعدله به) [I equated so-and-so with so-and-so]. Fulān yuʿādilu fulānan (وفلان يعادل فلانا) [he equals him]; and if you say yaʿdiluhu (يعدله), that too is acceptable. Al-ʿādil (العادل): the polytheist who sets up an equal to his Lord. Al-ʿidlān (العدلان): the two loads carried on a riding-animal from two sides, plural aʿdāl (أعدال); one is made ʿadala (عدل) [equalized with] the other, in balance, so that neither outweighs the other. Al-ʿadl (العدل) [also]: that you turn a thing from its [proper] course, tilting it — ʿadaltuhu ʿan kadhā (عدلته عن كذا), and ʿadaltu anā ʿan al-ṭarīq (وعدلت أنا عن الطريق) [I deviated from the road]. Rajul ʿadl wa-mra'ah ʿadl sawā' (ورجل عدل، وامرأة عدل سواء) [a just man and a just woman — same form for both]. Al-ʿadl (العدل): one of the two loads of a camel — said only of a load; it is called ʿadl because it is made equal to the other load by measure and weight. Al-ʿadīl (العديل): the one who balances you in the litter. One says: Allāhumma lā ʿidla laka (اللهم لا عدل لك) [O God, there is no equal to You], i.e., nothing is like You. And it is said, regarding expiation [of an oath], aw ʿidl dhālik (أو عدل ذلك) [or the equivalent of that], meaning what would be equivalent to it, not the very same counterpart. It is said that al-ʿadl (العدل) is ransom (al-fidā'). God [Almighty] said: lā yuqbalu minhā ʿadl (لا يقبل منها عدل). And it is said that here it means [religious] obligation (al-farīḍah). Al-ʿadl (العدل): the opposite of injustice. One says ʿadala ʿalā al-raʿiyyah (عدل على الرعية) [he ruled the subjects justly]. Of food that is neither hot nor cold to the point of harm, one says huwa muʿtadil (هو معتدل) [it is balanced]. "I made so-and-so an ʿidl (عدلا) for so-and-so, and an ʿadl (عدلا)" — each is used according to its meaning. ʿadaltu fulānan bi-naẓīrihi aʿdiluhu (وعدلت فلانا بنظيره، أعدله) [I equated so-and-so with his counterpart]. From this one says mā yaʿdiluka ʿindanā shay' (يقال: ما يعدلك عندنا شيء) [nothing equals you in our estimation], i.e., nothing occupies your place with us. ʿadaltu al-shay' aqamtuhu ḥattā ʿtadal (وعدلت الشيء أقمته حتى اعتدل) [I straightened the thing, setting it up until it stood even]. He said [in verse]: "I brought the people to her at dawn, until I held fast to the ground, straightening it lest it tilt."

Al-ʿadl (العدل): the opposite of injustice (al-jawr). One says: ʿadala ʿalayhi fī al-qaḍiyyah (عدل عليه في القضية) [he judged him justly in the case], so he is ʿādil (عادل). The ruler dispenses his ʿadl, maʿdalah, and miʿdalah (عدله ومعدلته ومعدلته). Fulān min ahl al-maʿdalah (وفلان من أهل المعدلة): so-and-so is of the people of justice. Rajul ʿadl (رجل عدل): approved (riḍā) and acceptable in testimony. It is originally a maṣdar (verbal noun). A group of people may [also] be called ʿadl (عدل) and ʿudūl (عدول), the latter being the plural of ʿadl. One says ʿadala al-rajul (عدل الرجل), with ḍamma, ʿadālah (عدالة) [he became just]. Al-Akhfash said: al-ʿidl (العدل), with kasra, means "the like" (al-mithl); al-ʿadl (العدل), with fatḥa, is originally the maṣdar of ʿadaltu bi-hādhā ʿadlan ḥasanan (عدلت بهذا عدلا حسنا), made into a noun meaning "the like," to distinguish it from ʿidl al-matāʿ (عدل المتاع) [a pack-load of goods] — just as they said imra'ah razān and ʿajūz razīn [distinct masculine/feminine forms] to distinguish [meanings]. Al-Farrā' said: al-ʿadl (العدل), with fatḥa, is what equals a thing though of a different kind; al-ʿidl (العدل), with kasra, is "the like" [of the same kind]. You say ʿindī ʿidl ghulāmika wa-ʿidl shātika (عندي عدل غلامك وعدل شاتك) [I have the equivalent of your slave-boy and of your ewe] when it is a slave-boy equal to a slave-boy and a ewe equal to a ewe. But if you mean its value in something of a different kind, you give the ʿayn a fatḥa — though some Arabs give it a kasra, apparently in error. He said: they agree that the singular of al-aʿdul is ʿidl with kasra. Al-ʿadīl (العديل): one who equals you in weight and measure. One says fulān yuʿādilu amrahu ʿidālan wa-yaqsimuhu (فلان يعادل أمره عدالا ويقسمه) [so-and-so wavers between two matters, undecided which to pursue]. Ibn al-Riqāʿ said: "If there is hope in their gait, their hooves have already met with wavering (al-ʿidāl)." Al-ʿidāl (العدال): [a dispute in which] one person says of it [a she-camel] there is still some [milk] left, and another says there is none left. ʿadala ʿan al-ṭarīq (عدل عن الطريق): he turned off from the road; inʿadala ʿanhu (انعدل عنه) is similar. ʿadala al-faḥl ʿan al-ibil (وعدل الفحل عن الابل): when the stallion refrains from mating. ʿādaltu bayna al-shay'ayn (وعادلت بين الشيئين) [I made the two things equal]. ʿadaltu fulānan bi-fulānin (وعدلت فلانا بفلان), when you equalize between them. Taʿdīl al-shay' (تعديل الشيء): straightening it. One says ʿadaltuhu fa-ʿtadal (عدلته فاعتدل), i.e., I straightened it and it became straight. Everything well set-up is muʿtadil (معتدل). Taʿdīl al-shuhūd (تعديل الشهود): declaring that witnesses are ʿudūl (عدول) [upright/reliable]. Lā yuqbalu minhā ṣarf wa-lā ʿadl (ولا يقبل منها صرف ولا عدل) ["neither ṣarf nor ʿadl will be accepted from it"]: al-ṣarf is repentance, al-ʿadl is ransom. From this is His saying: wa-in taʿdil kulla ʿadlin lā yu'khadh minhā (وإن تعدل كل عدل لا يؤخذ منها) [Quran 6:70], i.e., "though it offer every [possible] ransom, none will be taken from it." And His saying aw ʿadl dhālika ṣiyāman (أو عدل ذلك صياما) [Quran 5:95], i.e., "the ransom-equivalent of that, in fasting." Al-ʿādil (العادل): the polytheist who sets up an equal to his Lord — from this is the saying of that woman to al-Ḥajjāj: "innaka la-qāsiṭun ʿādil" (إنك لقاسط عادل) ["you are indeed unjust, one who sets up equals [to God]"]. And their saying waḍaʿa fulānun ʿalā yaday ʿadl (وضع فلان على يدى عدل) ["so-and-so was placed in the hands of ʿAdl"] — Ibn al-Sikkīt said: this is al-ʿAdl ibn Jazʾ ibn Saʿd al-ʿAshīrah, who was in charge of the police guard of Tubbaʿ; when Tubbaʿ wished to kill a man he would hand him to him, so people said, "he was placed in the hands of ʿAdl," and then it was said of anything given up as hopeless.

The letters ʿayn, dāl, and lām (ع د ل) have two sound root-meanings, but they are opposed to one another like contraries: one indicates evenness/equality, and the other indicates crookedness. The first: al-ʿadl (العدل) among people is the one who is approved, of even and upright conduct. One says: hādhā ʿadl (هذا عدل) "this one is just," and humā ʿadl (وهما عدل) [dual]. Zuhayr said: "Whenever a people quarrel and their nobles grow few, they are among us — so they are content, and they are just." One also says humā ʿadlān (هما عدلان) and hum ʿudūl (وهم عدول) [plural]. And "so-and-so is truly ʿadl (لعدل) between al-ʿadl and al-ʿudūlah (العدل والعدولة)." Al-ʿadl (العدل) is judging by equality. It is said of a thing equal to another: "it is its ʿidl (عدله)" [its counterpart]. "ʿadaltu bi-fulānin fulānan" (عدلت بفلان فلانا) [I made so-and-so equal to so-and-so], and "huwa yuʿādiluhu" (يعادله) [he equals him]. The polytheist "yaʿdilu bi-rabbihi" (يعدل بربه) taʿālā ʿan qawlihim ʿuluwwan kabīrā [sets up an equal to his Lord — exalted greatly above what they say] — as though he makes something else equal to Him. From this chapter also: al-ʿidlān (العدلان), the two loads of a pack-animal, so named because they are equal to one another. Al-ʿadīl (العديل) is one who balances you in the [camel-]litter. Al-ʿadl (العدل) is the value of a thing, and its ransom. God Almighty said: "wa lā yuqbalu minhā ʿadl" (ولا يقبل منها عدل) ["and no ransom will be accepted from it"], i.e., ransom. All of this comes from al-muʿādalah (المعادلة), equivalence. Al-ʿadl (العدل) is the opposite of injustice (al-jawr). One says "ʿadala fī raʿiyyatihi" (عدل في رعيته) [he ruled his subjects justly], and "yawm muʿtadil" (يوم معتدل) [a temperate day], when its heat and cold are equal, and likewise of food. One says "ʿadaltuhu ḥattā ʿtadal" (عدلته حتى اعتدل) [I straightened it until it became straight], i.e., I set it upright until it stood even. He said [in verse]: "I brought the people to her at dawn, until I held fast to the ground, righting it lest it tilt." From this chapter also: al-muʿtadilah (المعتدلة) said of she-camels — one whose limbs are well-formed and harmonious. As for their calling a kind of ship ʿadawliyyah (عدولية), it may be permissible that this derives from the meaning we have set out, since such ships are only [so called because] they are level and well-balanced (mustawiyah muʿtadilah) — though al-Khalīl claimed it is named after a place called ʿAdawlī. Ṭarafah said: "ʿAdawliyyah [ships], or some of the ships of Ibn Yāmin — the sailor navigates with them, now crossing over, now finding his way." As for the other root-meaning, it is used for crookedness: ʿadala (عدل) and inʿadala (انعدل) [it bent/veered]. Dhū al-Rummah said: "And indeed I turn my glance away from her direction, out of shame, and had I obeyed it, it would not have swerved."

Al-ʿadālah and al-muʿādalah (العدالة والمعادلة): a term implying the meaning of equality, used with reference to correlation [between two things]. Al-ʿadl and al-ʿidl (العدل والعدل) are close in meaning, but al-ʿadl is used for what is perceived by insight, such as judgments — as in His saying aw ʿadl dhālika ṣiyāman (أو عدل ذلك صياما) [Quran 5:95] — while al-ʿidl and al-ʿadīl (العدل والعديل) are used for what is perceived by the senses, such as weighed, counted, and measured things. So al-ʿadl is equal apportionment; and on this basis it is transmitted: "bi-l-ʿadli qāmat al-samāwātu wa-l-arḍ" (بالعدل قامت السموات والأرض) ["by justice the heavens and earth stand"], indicating that if any of the four pillars of the world exceeded or fell short of another, contrary to wisdom, the world would not be well-ordered. Al-ʿadl (justice) is of two kinds: (1) Absolute justice, whose goodness reason necessitates, never abrogated in any era, and never describable as transgression in any respect — such as doing good to one who has done good to you, and refraining from harming one who has refrained from harming you. (2) Justice known as such [only] through revealed Law, which may be abrogated in some eras — such as retaliation (qiṣāṣ), compensations for injuries, and the [disposition of the] original property of an apostate. Hence He said: fa-man iʿtadā ʿalaykum fa-ʿtadū ʿalayh (فمن اعتدى عليكم فاعتدوا عليه) [Quran 2:194], and wa-jazā'u sayyi'atin sayyi'atun mithluhā (وجزاء سيئة سيئة مثلها) [Quran 42:40] — so it is named "transgression" (iʿtidā') and "evil" (sayyi'ah) [though it is a just requital]. This latter kind is meant by His saying: inna Allāha ya'muru bi-l-ʿadli wa-l-iḥsān (إن الله يأمر بالعدل والإحسان) [Quran 16:90], for al-ʿadl is equality in requital — good for good, evil for evil — while al-iḥsān is repaying good with more, and evil with less. Rajul ʿadl (رجل عدل): a just man; rijāl ʿadl (رجال عدل): the same form used for singular and plural, as the poet said: "they are content and they are just." It is originally a maṣdar, as in His saying wa-ash-hidū dhaway ʿadlin minkum (وأشهدوا ذوي عدل منكم) [Quran 65:2], i.e., ʿadālah. He said: wa-umirtu li-aʿdila baynakum (وأمرت لأعدل بينكم) [Quran 42:15], and wa-lan tastaṭīʿū an taʿdilū bayna al-nisā' (ولن تستطيعوا أن تعدلوا بين النساء) [Quran 4:129] — referring to human inclination to partiality, since one cannot equalize [emotional] love among [multiple wives]. And fa-in khiftum allā taʿdilū fa-wāḥidah (فإن خفتم ألا تعدلوا فواحدة) [Quran 4:3] refers to the justice of [equal] division and maintenance. And He said: lā yajrimannakum shana'ānu qawmin ʿalā allā taʿdilū iʿdilū (لا يجرمنكم شنآن قوم على ألا تعدلوا اعدلوا) [Quran 5:8]. His saying aw ʿadl dhālika ṣiyāman (أو عدل ذلك صياما) [Quran 5:95] means what equals, in fasting, the food [otherwise due] — food being called ʿadl when the sense of equivalence is meant. As for their saying lā yuqbalu minhu ṣarfun wa-lā ʿadl (لا يقبل منه صرف ولا عدل): al-ʿadl is said to denote the obligatory duty (al-farīḍah) — its established meaning above — while al-ṣarf is the supererogatory act, i.e., what exceeds that; the two thus resemble al-ʿadl and al-iḥsān. The meaning that it will not be accepted from him is that it will not be... [entry continues]

Al-ʿadl (العدل): what is established in people's minds as being upright (mustaqīm); it is the opposite of injustice (al-jawr). ʿadala al-ḥākim fī al-ḥukm yaʿdilu ʿadlan (عدل الحاكم في الحكم يعدل عدلا) [the judge ruled justly], and he is ʿādil (عادل), from a people [called] ʿudūl and ʿadl (عدول وعدل) — the latter being a collective noun like tajr and shurb. ʿadala ʿalayhi fī al-qaḍiyyah (عدل عليه في القضية), so he is ʿādil; and the ruler dispenses his ʿadl and maʿdalah (عدله ومعدلته). Among the names of God, glorified is He: al-ʿAdl (العدل) — He whom [personal] whim cannot sway to injustice in judgment. It is originally a maṣdar used as a name in place of "al-ʿādil," and is more emphatic, since it makes the one named Justice itself. Fulān min ahl al-maʿdalah (وفلان من أهل المعدلة): of the people of justice. Al-ʿadl: judging by truth. One says huwa yaqḍī bi-l-ḥaqqi wa-yaʿdil (هو يقضي بالحق ويعدل). Huwa ḥakamun ʿādil, dhū maʿdalah fī ḥukmihi (وهو حكم عادل: ذو معدلة في حكمه) [he is a just judge, possessing equity in his ruling]. Al-ʿadl among people: the one whose speech and judgment are approved. Al-Bāhilī said: rajul ʿadl wa-ʿādil (رجل عدل وعادل): one whose testimony is admissible. Rajul ʿadl (رجل عدل): satisfactory and acceptable in testimony. Ibn Barrī cites the saying of Kuthayyir: "I took Laylā's pledge in secret, and there were no witnesses over Laylā, upright and accepted (ʿudūl muqāniʿ)." Rajul ʿadl bayyinu al-ʿadl wa-l-ʿadālah (ورجل عدل بين العدل والعدالة): described by the maṣdar, meaning "possessor of justice." He said in two places: wa-ash-hidū dhaway ʿadlin minkum (وأشهدوا ذوي عدل منكم), and yaḥkumu bihi dhawā ʿadlin minkum (يحكم به ذوا عدل منكم) [Quran 5:95]. One says rajul ʿadl, rajulān ʿadl, rijāl ʿadl, imra'ah ʿadl, niswah ʿadl (رجل عدل ورجلان عدل ورجال عدل وامرأة عدل ونسوة عدل), all meaning "men/women possessing justice" — so it is not [inflected as] dual, plural, or feminine; if found so inflected, it has been treated as an ordinary descriptive adjective rather than a maṣdar. Ibn Jinnī reports imra'ah ʿadlah (امرأة عدلة): they feminized the maṣdar because it functioned descriptively of a feminine [noun], though it is not shaped like an active participle nor truly denotes an agent — it was drawn to this by its descriptive function. Ibn Jinnī said: their saying rajul ʿadl and imra'ah ʿadl both keep the masculine descriptive form, because masculinity came to it only through its being a maṣdar; so when one says rajul ʿadl, it is as though he is described with the whole category [of justice], as an intensification — just as one says istawlā ʿalā al-faḍl wa-ḥāza jamīʿ al-riyāsati wa-l-nabl ["he mastered excellence and attained the whole of leadership and nobility"] and the like — describing him with the entire genus for emphasis, and making the singular masculine form a mark of maṣdar-status. The same applies to khaṣm [litigant] and similar words used descriptively though originally maṣdars. He said: but if one objects that the very form of a maṣdar has come in the feminine — such as al-ziyādah, al-ʿiyādah, al-ḍuʿūlah, al-juhūmah, al-maḥmiyyah, al-mawjidah, al-ṭalāqah, al-sabāṭah, and the like — so that if the maṣdar itself can be feminine, then what shares its meaning and is analogically derived from it would be even more entitled to feminization — the reply is: the original, by virtue of its [greater] strength, is more capable of bearing this meaning than the derivative, due to its weakness; and that is because al-ziyādah and al-ʿiyādah... [entry continues]