Definition of a City (Misr) and the Conditions for Establishing Jumu‘a

Question

(1) What is the literal meaning of the word “misr”, and in what sense should it be understood in this issue? (2) In the definition of a city (misr) it is found in some places that it is a place where essential needs are met. What is the ruling concerning this, and what do essential needs comprise? (3) It has been said that a city is a place where there is a qadi and a mufti. What can be meant by this statement in our time, when here in India there is no such practice at all? (4)

Answer

(1) In the language, “misr” means: to milk a goat or she-camel with three fingers; to milk out the milk thoroughly and completely; [the boundary] between two things, a barrier (hajiz); the name of a well-known city; the name of a son of Nuh ﵇; a city; two well-known cities — Kufa and Basra; red clay. So it is in “Lisan al-‘Arab” (vol. 5, p. 175).

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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