alkifayah

Al-kifayah, also transliterated as al-kifāyah, is a concept in Islamic jurisprudence meaning a collective or communal obligation. The term comes from the Arabic root kafa, meaning to suffice or be adequate. In fiqh, al-kifayah refers to duties that are required of the Muslim community as a whole rather than binding on every individual.

The defining feature of fard kifayah (collective obligation) is that if enough capable members perform the duty, the obligation is discharged for the rest; if no one fulfills it, the entire community bears responsibility. This contrasts with fard ‘ayn (an individual obligation), which every Muslim must perform personally.

Classical jurists cite several examples of fard kifayah, including the performance of the funeral prayer for the deceased and the provision of essential public needs and services that benefit the community. Other duties that may be considered fard kifayah include matters related to public welfare, knowledge of the religious tradition necessary for the community, and the maintenance of institutions or roles essential to communal life. The precise obligations and their sufficiency threshold vary by time, place, and local conditions, reflecting the flexible, situational nature of this category.

The concept is recognized across the major Sunni schools of thought (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi‘i, and Hanbali) and is used to describe responsibilities whose fulfillment by a sufficient number of people fulfills the duty for the entire community. In modern contexts, fard kifayah is often invoked to discuss collective duties such as public health, disaster relief, and the upkeep of religious and civic infrastructures.