المعنى الاصطلاحي :

The stage in a human being's life in which he approaches puberty.

الشرح المختصر :

"Murāhaqah" (adolescence) is the stage of human life between childhood and puberty; it marks the end of one’s childhood. It is used to describe a youngster who is approaching the age of competence for religious assignment. Childhood is the time that Allah has made for man to be trained how to perform acts of obedience and he receives reward for it, and at the same time, he is not held accountable and not punished for any misdeeds he may commit. Childhood - i.e. pre-adulthood - is divided into two stages: 1. The stage of lacking discernment: it begins when the child is born and ends when he is capable of discerning between things, which is usually seven years old. 2. The stage of discernment: it is when the child is capable of discerning between benefit and harm. This usually begins at seven years old or less and it continues until the age of puberty, which is usually fifteen years old or less. "Murāhaqah" is a time interval that starts in the stage of discernment and lasts until puberty. The youngest age for a female to reach "murāhaqah" is nine and for a male is twelve, since this is the youngest age possible for reaching puberty. "Murāhaqah" is characterized by comprehensive changes in the body, mind, and soul.

التعريف اللغوي المختصر :

"Murāhaqah": approaching puberty. "Murāhiq": one who is about to reach puberty. "Murāhaqah" refers to the stage of life that starts before puberty and ends with reaching maturity. Original meaning: approaching something, ignorance, idiocy, haste.