There are certain rules which Muslims within these two areas must follow.
Another meaning of the word which was used in the past but has since fallen out of use, include an "inviolable/protected zone," referring to an area in which the number of residing families was limited, attributed to the idea of carrying capacity and early forms of nature reserves, and to the prayer hall of the mosque.
Etymology
The
ḥarām most often means "forbidden by law"[3]). A third related word derived from the same root, that is ḥarīm (حَرِيْم), most directly corresponds to English "harem
". This article covers the word ḥaram (with short vowels in the singular form).
Great Mosque of Kairouan (also called the Mosque of Uqba) which is located in the historic city of Kairouan in Tunisia, North Africa
As used in Islamic urban planning, the word ḥaram means "inviolate zone", an important aspect of
zoning laws
, with the same purposes.
The distinction between haram and hima is thought by some modern scholars to have been necessary due to a different means of deciding which regions were to have restrictions - the selection of haram was considered to be more up to the community while the selection of hima had more to do with natural characteristics of the region, which were considered to be best respected by
Khilafah (Stewardship of nature under Allah). It may or may not reflect actual means of decision making historically. As a protected and inviolate zone, haram is also employed referring to the consecrated space in a mosque where rituals and prayer take place: it is the prayer hall.[4]
Holy site
"Haramain" redirects here. For the high-speed railway, see
Al-Mash‘ar Al-Ḥarām
Ḥaram can also mean a site of high sanctity. The two sites whose Islamic sanctity are unchallengeably the highest of all are Al-
