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554glossary of terms and conceptsTERMINARABICTRANS-LITERATIONENGLISH TRANSLATIONالتبنيal-tabann§ Adoption of a child If adoption is carried out within the first two yearsof a child’s life, the foster parents achieve the samestatus as the biological parents of the child, sincethe child would have no other recollection of his/her parents than that of his/her foster parents.الشرك بااللهal-shirk bi’l-ll§h Violation of God’s unity There are three different ways of violating God’sunity but only the first is regarded as an unforgivable‘sin’ ( al-dhanb), and that is, a) to make an image ofGod, which is to give God a concrete temporal,spatial, and material dimension (ignoring that He isbeyond any such dimension or description); theother two less severe but equally condemnable sinsare: b) a violation of God’s divinity, which is to declarethe generation of the forefathers and of themedieval jurists infallible, or to regard what iscalled ‘Islamic jurisprudence’ as eternally valid.This is a violation of the ÈanÊfiyya principle as itrenders fixed something that is subject to historicalchange; it is a form of an indirect violation of God’sunity, since it attempts to call something fixed andeverlasting, while these are attributes that can onlybe applied to God; c) a violation of God’s sovereignty,i.e., the visit of the tombs of saints, ‘åfÊ brotherhoods,the call for human intermediaries betweenGod and human beings, etc.الرباal-rib§ Interest The verses of the Book allow to propose a flexiblebanking system that can incorporate, if need be, thetaking of interest and which, by holding to thelimits that Allah has set, can also prevent its misuse(i.e., usury).الخمرal-khamr Intoxicating substance The Book mentions the benefits of intoxicatingsubstances, such as in drugs or anaesthetics whichsome people need during surgical operations.Al-khamr always connotes substances that lead tointoxication and a total confusion of a person’smind; in instances where a person consumesalcohol but does not get intoxicated the termal-khamr is not applicable.