Makruh
Makruh names an act Islamic law discourages without binding force, rewarded when left and carrying no accountability at all for doing it.
What it means for me: Makruh is not a quiet way of saying forbidden. Hearing it should change what you choose to do, not how you judge someone who does it anyway. Leaving it earns reward; doing it carries no sin.
Example: A colleague is told a habit at work is makruh. He treats the word as though it meant haram, and starts judging coworkers who keep the habit. The word itself does not support that step.
Do not confuse with: Haram, the forbidden. Haram carries sin for doing it; makruh carries none, only a missed reward for not leaving it.
If scholars differ: The Hanafi school divides makruh into two grades: *makruh tahriman*, close to haram, and *makruh tanzihan*, a lighter dislike. Many earlier scholars said 'I dislike this' to mean forbidden, so older texts need reading in their own context. The full five-term scale is set out in Wajib, sunnah, mubah, makruh, and haram, explained.
Often appears in
See the term in context
What is the authenticity of the hadith: "May Allah curse every man who is a 'taste-tester' (frequently marries and divorces) and a 'divorcer' (frequently divorces his wives)," and does the stern warning to women against seeking divorce without reason contradict the fact that a man divorcing is merely considered reprehensible (makruh)?
The narration regarding the reprehensibility of divorce without need is a weak hadith. As for a man divorcing his wife without need: some scholars view it as disliked (makruh), while others view it as forbidden (haram)…
What is the reason that something disliked (makruh) is disliked and not forbidden (haram), and why did Allah not forbid it if He dislikes it? And does the same logic apply to other disliked things (makruhat), as is the case with divorce in the weak hadith: "Indeed, the most disliked permissible thing to Allah is divorce"?
In the terminology of the Usuliyyun (jurists specializing in the principles of Islamic jurisprudence), makruh (disliked/reprehensible) refers to that which is prohibited in a non-binding manner. الفقهاء (jurists) may…
What is the meaning of a prayer being judged as disliked (makruh) and needing to be repeated within its time?
The meaning of a disliked (makruh) prayer is that it is disliked due to a reason present during its performance, such as one who performs ablution with the leftover water of an animal that eats impurities, or performs…
Questions that use it
What is the difference between haram (forbidden), la yajuz (not permissible), makruh (disliked), and ithm (sin)? And does one who commits a makruh act incur sin?
What is the criterion for names that are disliked (makruh), and which names indicate تزكية (self-praise/purification) and which do not? Is it disliked to be named "Kamil" (كامل) and "Kamal" (كمال), similar to the disliking of the name "Mubarak" (مبارك) that Al-Nawawi mentioned in "Sharh Al-Muhadhdhab"?
Is it permissible to use makeup made from chemicals, and is it considered reprehensible (makruh) or forbidden (mamnu')?