Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

terminology, something which is makruh or makrooh (,

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

: ''makrooh'' or ''makrūh'') is "disliked", literally "detestable" or "abominable". This is one of the five categories (''al-ahkam al-khamsa'') in Islamic law – '' wajib/ fard'' (obligatory), ''

Mustahabb ''Mustahabb'' () is an Islamic term referring to an action or thing that is recommended and favoured. ''Mustahabb'' actions are those whose ruling ('' ahkam'') in Islamic law falls between '' mubah'' (neutral; neither encouraged nor discouraged ...

/mandub'' (recommended), '' mubah'' (neutral), ''makruh'' (disapproved), ''

haram ''Haram'' (; ) is an Arabic term meaning 'taboo'. This may refer to either something sacred to which access is not allowed to the people who are not in a state of purity or who are not initiated into the sacred knowledge; or, in direct cont ...

'' (forbidden). Though a ''makruh'' act is not ''

'' (forbidden) or subject to punishment, a person who abstains from this act will be rewarded.

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

s are encouraged to avoid such actions when or as possible. It is one of the degrees of approval (''

ahkam ''Ahkam'' (, plural of , ) is an Islamic term with several meanings. In the Quran, the word ''hukm'' is variously used to mean arbitration, judgement, authority, or God's will. In the early Islamic period, the Kharijites gave it political conn ...

'') in

Islamic law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intan ...

. In the terminology of

Islamic jurisprudence ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

, "Makruh" refers to an action that is not forbidden to do, but had better to be abandoned. Acts considered ''makruh'' can vary between different madhhabs due to differing scholarly interpretations of the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

and

Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

, with

Hanafi The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...

scholars in particular differing from the other madhhabs in regard to classification of ''makruh''.

Overview

Actions that are reprehensible and violate rules of

Fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

are considered to be ''makruh.'' ''Makruh'' is considered to be of two types: * ''Makruh Tahrimi'', مکروہ تَحریمی - Actions disliked in the same vein as

actions, but does not have definitive proof and instead uses speculative evidence for their prohibition. Unlike haram actions, committing these types of actions does not lead to unfaithfulness. This type of ''makruh'' is primarily cited by Hanafi scholars when issuing

Fatwa A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist ('' faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', ...

, and is not used by scholars of other madhhabs. * ''Makruh Tanzihi'', مکروه تنزیهی - Not strictly forbidden according to scholars, but is disliked if done. Engaging in actions that are considered this type of ''makruh'' will not lead to punishment, but avoiding these types of actions will bring one closer to God. This type of ''makruh'' is primarily used by all madhhabs, and is interchangeable with the word ''makruh'' in most cases. The

school uses the ''makruh tahrimi'' classification on the basis that there is doubt (but not extremely significant) in the chain of narration and/or authenticity of a

that provides evidence that a particular act is considered haram. All other madhhabs would consider classifying an act as haram in this case.

Examples

Some of the examples of something considered ''makruh'' are the use of a great amount of water when performing

ritual purification Ritual purification is a ritual prescribed by a religion through which a person is considered to be freed of ''uncleanliness'', especially prior to the worship of a deity, and ritual purity is a state of ritual cleanliness. Ritual purification ...

s known as the '' wudu'' (partial ablution, or ''abdest'') and '' ghusl'' (full ablution) or the consumption of

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

before attending the mosque or socializing with others. An example of a food which is considered ''makruh'' for Muslims of the Hanafi school is

prawn Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton An exoskeleton () . is a skeleton that is on the exterior of an animal in the form of hardened integument, which both supports the body's shape and protects the intern ...

s (but only for the Hanafi school). Hanafis believe in refraining from consuming prawns and therefore choose to eat something else if possible. There are, however, shared attitudes within the Hanafi school of whether shrimp are considered water game and are thereby ''

halal ''Halal'' (; ) is an Arabic word that translates to in English. Although the term ''halal'' is often associated with Islamic dietary laws, particularly meat that is slaughtered according to Islamic guidelines, it also governs ethical practices ...

''. An example in regards to clothing that is considered ''makruh'' is wearing garments below the ankle. However, debate among scholars, particularly of the

Maliki The Maliki school or Malikism is one of the four major madhhab, schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas () in the 8th century. In contrast to the Ahl al-Hadith and Ahl al-Ra'y schools of thought, the ...

school, has led to some considering it haram while others maintain it is ''makruh''. While the wearing of silk garments and gold jewelry by men is considered haram in all other schools, the Hanafi school considers it ''makruh tahrimi'' due to doubt in the chain of narration and authenticity of the Hadith in which this evidence is sourced. Another example of ''makruh tahrimi'' is making an offer to buy something that has an offer already placed by another person. Similarly to the rule on men and silk garments, the Hanafi school considers it ''makruh tahrimi'' since the Hadith in which the evidence is found has some doubt to the chain of narration. Other examples of ''makruh'' acts in Islam include talking while taking ablutions for prayer and slaughtering an animal for food where other animals of its kind can see it.

References

External links

Makruh

Makruh: Its Meaning and Concept

If Something Is Makruh, Then Is It Sinful to Do?
{{Authority control Arabic words and phrases in Sharia Islamic jurisprudence Islamic ethics Ritual purity in Islam Sharia legal terminology

Overview

Examples

See also

References

External links