Hisab

Hisab is a term of Arabic origin (from the root ḥ-s-b) meaning calculation, account, reckoning, or computation. In many languages influenced by Arabic, notably Urdu and Persian, hisab is used to denote both arithmetic and accounting, as well as the act of calculating something or settling accounts. The word has a broad semantic field that covers numerical computation and financial record-keeping as well as more abstract reckoning in religious or philosophical contexts.

In historical Islamic sciences, ilm al-hisab refers to the study of arithmetic, algebra, and related computational techniques. During the Islamic Golden Age, scholars and mathematicians developed systematic methods for astronomical calculations, calendar reckoning, and taxation, and their work often described as "hisab" in a wide sense. The term also appears in juridical contexts, where "hisab" denotes the calculation of legal shares in inheritance (faraid) and the computation of zakat and other duties.

In administrative and everyday use, hisab became common in the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East to mean bookkeeping and accounting. Phrases like hisab-kitab or hisaab refer to a ledger, bill, or the act of balancing accounts in business, education, or government records. In modern usage, the word remains part of everyday vocabulary for mathematics and finance, while in scholarly contexts it persists as "ilm al-hisab" for the science of computation. The term illustrates how a single root can span mathematics, law, administration, and daily life across languages.