Halal, Mustahabb, Mubah, Makrooh & Haram

There are two main categories in Islam; Halal (permissible) and haram (forbidden). What is halal is divided into 4 sub-divisions based on the way in which they were made allowable.

1. Wajib/Fard = obligatory:
It is something that must be done, if we do it we’re rewarded for it if we don’t (on purpose) we’re punished for it, if we don’t repent. Allah has told us what is wajib Quran [59:7] and Quran [5:97]. It is wajib to worship Allah alone and follow His commands.

The purpose behind the category of wajib acts is:

1) To identify for humans the absolutely essential acts which we must do in order to help us succeed in both this life and the next.
2) To train the beliver in submission to God, which is the foundation of righteousness.
3) To provide a basic framework of righteous deeds for the believers life.

2. Mustahabb = recommended:
These are acts which are encouraged by the Prophet (sawa). If we do them we’re rewarded, if we don’t we’re not punished no matter what. These acts are here to help us get used to obey Allah and His Prophet (sawa), and by the doing the mustahabb acts the wajib acts will be easier for us to do. Acts classified as Mustahabb are those which
a) The Prophet (as) used to do regularly,
b) those he recommended,
c) those who were wajib but later made mustahabb, for example ghusl on Fridays were fard but not anymore and
d) thise which he prohibited and then later recommended, like visiting the graves.

The purpose behind the mustahabb acts is:

1) To identify certain beneficial acts which humans may not necessarily realize,
2) To train humans in obeying God. Each compulsory act is as equivalent as an recommended version.
3) To protect the wajib acts with a shield of other good acts. If a believer becomes weak and neglect acts, it would be from the mustahabb that he does so and not the wajib ones.
4) To provide a body of good deeds which can make up for deficiencies in the wajib acts.

3. Mubah = allowed:
These are some acts that are allowed and they don’t affect our faith or relationship with God.

4. Makrooh = disliked:
If we don’t do these acts we will be rewarded, but if we do them there is no punishment. But it is better to avoid them because they may be harmful for us and they can lead to haram actions.

The purpose behind makrooh acts:

1) To protect us from some harmful acts if we abstain from the makrooh to begin with,
2) Avoiding it trains man in self-control and it’s easier to avoid haram acts if you avoid the makrooh and
3) To place a barrier between the believer and the haram acts so that in times of weakness a person would only fall into the disliked rather than the forbidden.

5. Haram = forbidden:
An act is haram if Allah or His Messenger (sawa) ordered us not to do it, without making any exceptions. If we avoid these acts we are rewarded if we don’t we are punished.

The purpose behind the haram acts is:

1) To protect man from things which are extremely harmful to him and society, either physically or spiritually.
2) To test mans faith and differentiate between true believers, weak believers and disbelievers,
3) To help develop mans awareness of Allah by forcing him to refrain from certain acts even though he may not be able to perceive the harm in it.