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عَدْلٌ ذ Equity, justice, or rectitude; contr. of جَوْرٌ; (S, O, Msb, K, TA;) i. e. i. q. قَصْدٌ, in affairs; (Msb;) and قِسْطٌ; (S, M, Mgh, &c., in art. قسط;) and سَوِيَّةٌ; (O, K;) and اِسْتِقَامَةٌ; (IAar, K;) and a thing that is established in the minds as being right; (K, TA;) as also ↓ مَعْدِلَةٌ (S, O, Msb, K) and ↓ مَعْدَلَةٌ (S, Msb, K) and ↓ عَدَالَةٌ and ↓ عُدُولَةٌ : (K:) or, as some say, it is the mean between excess and falling short: and Er-Rághib says, it is of two sorts: one is absolute, such that reason requires the inference of its goodness; and this will not at any time be abrogated, nor described as a mode of transgression; as the doing good to him who does good to thee, and the abstaining from harming him who abstains from harming thee: and the other is such as is known to be عَدْل by the law; and this may be abrogated sometimes; as retaliation, and fines for wounds and maimings, and the taking the property of the apostate; and this is what is meant by the saying in the Kur [xvi. 92], إِِنَّ ا@للّٰهَ يَأْمُرُ بِا@لْعَدْلِ وَا@لْإِِحْسَانِ i. e. [Verily God commandeth] equality in recompensing, if good, with good, and if evil, with evil, and the requiting of good with more good, and of evil with less evil: [see also 4 in art. حسن:] and he says of ↓ عَدَالَةٌ and ↓ مَعْدِلَةٌ , that each is a term requiring the inference of equality, and is used with a regard to correlation. (TA.) One says, بَسَطَ الوَالِى عَدْلَهُ and ↓ مَعْدِلَتَهُ (S, O) and ↓ مَعْدَلَتَهُ (S) [The governor, or ruler, largely extended his equity, or justice]. And ↓ فُلَانٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ المَعْدَلَةِ , (S,) or ↓ المَعْدِلَةِ , (O,) i. e. من اهل العَدْلِ [Such a one is of the people of equity, &c.]. (S, O.) وَأَشْهِدُوا ذَوَىْ عَدْلٍ مِنْكُمْ, in the Kur [lxv. 2], is said by Sa'eed Ibn-El-Museiyib to mean ذَوَىْ عَقْلٍ [i. e. And make ye to be witnesses two persons of intelligence from among you: but this rendering I think questionable]. (TA.) ― -b2- Also Repayment, requital, compensation, or recompense. (K.) ― -b3- And Ransom, (S, O, Msb, K, TA,) when regard is had therein to the meaning of equality, or equivalence. (TA.) This is [said to be] the meaning in the phrase of the Kur [v. 96], أَوْ عَدْلُ ذٰلِكَ صِيَامًا [Or the ransom thereof by fasting: but this is generally expl. as meaning or the like thereof of fasting; (see عِدْلٌ;) i. e., in lieu of feeding a number of poor men, one shall fast the like number of days]. (S, O.) And so [accord. to some] in the saying, occurring in a trad., لَا يُقْبَلُ مِنْهُ صَرْفٌ وَلَا عَدْلٌ [of which see various explanations (including three renderings here following) in art. صرف]. (O, Msb.) ― -b4- And Measure; syn. كَيْلٌ. (K.) So in the phrase أَعْطَاهُ بِالعَدْلِ [He gave him by measure]. (TK.) ― -b5- And An obligatory act or divine ordinance. (En-Nadr, O, K.) ― -b6- And A supererogatory act. (O, K.) -A2- Also One who acts equitably, justly, or rightly; and so ↓ عَادِلٌ : (K, TA:) or the latter signifies thus: (S, O:) and the former [particularly] signifies a man approved and satisfactory in testimony; originally an inf. n.; (S, O, TA;) whose testimony is approved and available; (Msb;) a man whose testimony is allowable, or legally admissible, as also ↓ عَادِلٌ ; a man whose saying, and whose judgment, or judicial decision, are approved; and, accord. to Ibráheem, one from whom a thing occasioning doubt, or suspicion, or evil opinion, has not appeared: being originally an inf. n., it means ذُو عَدْلٍ: or, accord. to IJ, it is an intensive epithet, as though meaning possessing every kind of عَدْل: (TA:) one says رَجُلٌ عَدْلٌ, (S, O, Msb, * K,) and اِمْرَأَةٌ عَدْلٌ and عَدْلَةٌ, (Msb, K,) the latter mentioned by IJ, (TA,) and رَجُلَانِ عَدْلٌ and عَدْلَانِ, (Msb, * TA,) and قَوْمٌ عَدْلٌ (S, O, Msb, * K) and نِسْوَةٌ عَدْلٌ (TA) and قَوْمٌ عُدُولٌ, (S, O, Msb, * K,) عُدُولٌ being pl. of عَدْلٌ, (S, O, Msb,) or of عَادِلٌ, (K,) and عَدْلٌ used in a pl. sense being a quasi-pl. n. of عَادِلٌ, (M, K,) like تَجْرٌ [of تَاجِرٌ] and شَرْبٌ [of شَارِبٌ]; (M, TA;) or رِجَالٌ عَدْلٌ and نِسْوَةٌ عَدْلٌ mean رِجَالٌ ذَوُو عَدْلٍ and نِسْوَانٌ ذَوَاتُ عَدْلٍ. (TA.) ― -b2- العَدْلُ as one of the names of God means He whom desire does not cause to incline, or decline, so that he should deviate from the right course in judgment. (TA.) ― -b3- And one says, هٰذَا عَدْلٌ بَيْنَهُمَا, meaning This is intermediate in quality between them two, not in the utmost degree of goodness nor in the extreme degree of badness. (Mgh.) And مَكَانٌ عَدْلٌ بَيْنَ فَرِيقَيْنِ [A place equidistant, or midway, between two parties]. (S in art. سوى.) ― -b4- See also عِدْلٌ, throughout the greater part of the paragraph. -A3- عَدْلٌ is also the name of a certain chief of the [body of armed men called] شُرَط, (S, O,) or شُرْطَة, (K,) of a تُبَّع [or King of El-Yemen], who, when he desired the slaughter of a man, delivered him to this person; (S, O, K;) whereupon the people said, وُضِعَ عَلَى يَدَىْ عَدْلٍ [He has been consigned to the hands of 'Adl]; (S, O;) and this was afterwards said of anything of which one despaired. (S, O, K.) [Meyd mentions عَلَى يَدَىْ عَدْلٍ, as a prov., without وُضِعَ: see Freytag's Arab. Prov. ii. 80.]
An Arabic-English Lexicon. London. Williams and Norgate. 1863.

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