Classification of actions based on the Islamic law (Shari’a)

All human actions are divided according to the Islamic law in the following categories, in order to clarify whether an action is considered permissible or prohibited:

1. Obligatory (Fard): It is what Islamic law imposes on people, without any doubt, such as the obligation of prayer, of fasting, of Zakah (annual obligatory charity that the rich gives to the poor). These actions are obligatory, and whoever does them will be rewarded, while whoever neglects them will be punished.
2. Preferable (Mustahab): They are the actions that the Islamic law encourages people to do without having made them obligatory. Whoever does them will be rewarded, but whoever neglects them is not considered to have sinned, so he is not punished. Such actions are to brush one’s teeth with the Siwak (a small piece of wood with bristles, like a brush) before prayer.
3. Permissible (Mubah): They are the acts which neither whoever does is rewarded nor the one who neglects is punished, such as walking, using the car or an airplane and any other everyday actions.
4. Repugnant (Makrooh): They are acts abstinence from which is encouraged by the Islamic Law, but there is no prohibition on them. So whoever abstains from them is rewarded, but the one who does them is not considered to have sinned and he is not punished. It is preferred to abstain from these acts and whatever may lead to them, but he who does them has not sinned. But the repetition of such actions and the habit of them leads to the violation of the limits that have been set by Allah and to the commission of an act which Allah has forbidden. The reason behind the fact that such actions are not considered sins, even though they are repugnant, is that sometimes it may be necessary to commit them. For example, Allah, the Almighty, hates divorce, but has not banned it as a mercy for His slaves, to release them if life circumstances require so.
5. Forbidden (Haram): They are the actions the Islamic Law forbids. So, whoever does them is considered to have sinned and is punished, while whoever abstains from them is rewarded. Such acts include the prohibition of alcohol consumption and adultery.

Distinction between the permissible and the forbidden

To know the permissible and distinguish it from the forbidden is the backbone of Islam and the proof of faith, and it is connected to the actions of the heart, as it is connected to the actions of the body. The basic rule is that every act is permitted, and there are no impermissible acts except those specifically mentioned in the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad as forbidden. The permissible acts are something pure, good, while the forbidden ones are something evil, obscene. And it is the Right of Allah, since He is the Creator, the Good-Doer and the Disposer of His slaves’ affairs, to permit whatever He wants for His slaves and to forbid whatever He wants. But Allah, as a mercy from Him to His slaves, has made the legalization and the forbiddance of actions for logical causes, based on the benefit for people. Therefore, Allah has not permitted anything but good, and has not forbidden anything but evil.

Moving a deed from one category to another

1. Moving from the permissible to the forbidden and vice versa:

A permissible deed can be transferred to the category of the prohibited if there is a reason that makes this deed instead of pleasing and good for the soul a bad and vile act that harms the soul. For example, while walking on the streets is a permissible act, it may be forbidden if the president of a country has set a command of curfew for some time for the safety of the citizens. A forbidden deed may also be transferred to the category of the permissible if there is a reason that makes this deed necessary for a man’s life to be preserved. For example, drinking alcohol is a forbidden action, but it may be permissible if a man is lost in the desert and is going to die of thirst while he has nothing available to drink but alcohol, in which case he may drink as much as needed in order to ensure his survival, without, however, transgressing this limit.

2. Moving from the obligatory to the forbidden and vice versa:

An obligatory deed may be moved to the category of the forbidden and a forbidden deed may be moved to the category of the obligatory. For example, prayer is an obligatory deed, but it may become forbidden if a man is praying inside his house during an earthquake and it is certain that he will die unless he gets out of the house quickly. On the other hand, to attack someone and cut his leg is forbidden, but if a doctor has to cut a patient’s leg to save his life, then this action becomes obligatory to him and if he does not do it he is considered to have committed a sin and a crime, for which he must be punished.

3. Moving from the repugnant to the category of the preferable or from preferable to the category of the forbidden:

A repugnant deed may move to the category of the preferable, even to that of the obligatory. For example, divorce is in essence a repugnant deed, which Allah detests, but in some cases not to give one’s wife a divorce can lead to forbidden deeds that the husband cannot prevent unless he gives a divorce, like when a wife is immoral and the husband cannot bring her back to the straight path. In this case it is preferable that the husband should give divorce to such a woman. Consequently, the repugnant action becomes preferable.

A preferable deed may also be moved to the category of the forbidden. For example, to clean one’s teeth with As-Siwak is a preferable action. But it may become repugnant, or even forbidden, when, for example, one’s teeth are about to fall and he knows that this will happen if he cleans them with As- Siwak. In this case to clean one’s teeth with As-Siwak is opposing the Islamic rule ‘not to harm, or cause any harm to anybody, not even yourself.”

Conclusion:

Based on what we have explained above, we conclude that Islam is not a blind religion that does not see or assess the circumstances of the everyday affairs of people. The blindness is in fact in the hearts of the enemies of Islam, who have no other purpose with the lies they invent against Islam but to put out the light of Allah with their mouths, and verily, Allah will complete His Light, even if the disbelievers do not like that. Maybe, dear reader, you have understood that Islam is not a religion of injustice, but it is a religion of justice, and as one of the Names of Allah is “Al-‘Adl The Just”, the estimation of whether an action is forbidden or permissible in Islam is based on justice and not on blind judgement, while every form of injustice is forbidden in Islam. 

REFERENCE:

Book: “Women in Islam & Refutation of some common Misconceptions”
by Dr. Abdur Rahman bin Abdul Kareem Al- Sheha

Translated by: Abu Salman Deya ud-Deen Eberle.