Kafaya

Kafaya is a transliteration that can refer to more than one term in Arabic, depending on context. In many discussions, it is most closely associated with the concept kafā’ah, which concerns compatibility or suitability. The idea captures whether two individuals, typically potential spouses, are considered appropriate matches in terms of factors such as religious commitment, character, lineage, and social or economic status. The precise criteria for kafā’ah vary by Islamic legal school and cultural practice. In modern usage, many scholars emphasize piety and moral character as primary, while traditional views may give weight to lineage or wealth; proposals and rulings on kafā’ah can differ across communities and legal texts.

In Arabic literature, a related term is qafiyah (also transliterated as kāfiyah or qāfiya), which means the final rhyme or end rhyme pattern in a line of poetry. Qafiyah is a technical term in prosody and differs from kafā’ah in meaning and use, though transliteration can sometimes blur distinctions in English.

The spelling kafaya may appear in English-language texts as an approximate transliteration of either kafā’ah or qafiyah, and readers should consider the surrounding context to determine which concept is intended. The term does not refer to a single, universal definition in all contexts, but rather to several related ideas rooted in Arabic language and Islamic literary and legal traditions.

See also: kafā’ah, qafiyah, Arabic prosody.