المعنى الاصطلاحي

Each party adopting an approach different from the other party in terms of words, actions, or beliefs.

الشرح المختصر

"Ikhtilāf" (disagreement) is disparity between two parties in opinions, judgments, looks, etc. Examples of "ikhtilāf" include: "ikhtilāf" among scholars over a specific ruling, "ikhtilāf" of people in the rows while praying (i.e. not staying in a straight line), "ikhtilāf" between the abode of disbelief and that of Islam, and "ikhtilāf" regarding the times of seeing the new moon in different countries. A close examination of the Shariah texts reveals that "ikhtilāf" is of two types: 1. Acceptable "ikhtilāf": This is "ikhtilāf" over non-fundamental issues of the Shariah. Reasons for this "ikhtilāf" can be the ambiguous and generalized nature of texts, differences in ways of reciting the Qur’an, differences in narrations of a Hadith, forgetting or not knowing a Hadith, and so on. 2. Blameworthy "ikhtilāf": It is also called "ikhtilāf" of contradiction, and it is of several types. Examples include: "ikhtilāf" in beliefs; "ikhtilāf" among deviant sects; "ikhtilāf" in wars; and "ikhtilāf" arising from desires, arrogance, or fanaticism. This type of "ikhtilāf" leads to disputes and conflicts.

التعريف اللغوي المختصر

"Ikhtilāf": dispute, disagreement, contradiction, reversal. Opposite: "ittifāq" (agreement). It is derived from "khilāfah", which means succession and replacement of something by another. Other meanings: variation, change, dispersion.

التعريف

Unreconciled difference, with each one taking a different way on the basis of some evidence that he deems valid.