8 Rulings
The eight categories of rulings in the Hanafi madhhab:
- Obligatory (fard)
- Necessary (wajib)
- Emphasized sunna (sunna mu’akada)
- Recommended sunna (sunna mustahabb)
- Permissible (mubah)
- Somewhat disliked (makruh tanzihan)
- Prohibitively disliked (makruh tahriman)
- Prohibited (haram)
In essence, numbers 1-4 these must or should be done. Number 5 must/should can be done if the intention is good, and abandoned if the intention is sinful. Numbers 6-8 must or should be abandoned.
Consequences
Consequences of these rulings:
- The obligatory (fard) and necessary (wajib) must be performed.
- The prohibitively disliked (makruh tahriman) and forbidden (haram) must be left.
- It’s strongly encouraged to perform the emphasized sunnas (sunna mu’akada).
- It’s strongly encourage to leave the blameworthy (makruh tanzihan) without excuse.
- The recommended (sunna mustahabb) should be performed, and the somewhat disliked (makruh tanzihan) should be left.
- The permitted (mubah) should be conjoined with good intentions (niyyah), worthy of reward, and wastefulness (israf) should be avoided.
Obligatory
Obligatory (fard):
Is a firm command established by a decisively-established text whose meaning is decisive and not open to the possibility of interpretation.
One is bound to believe in and act on the obligatory. The one who denies it could well fall into disbelief, and the one who leaves it is sinful.
Decisively-established text: are the entire Quran, and those hadiths related by multiple contiguous chains (mutawatir).
Obligation: a course of action or requirement you must fulfill.
An obligatory ruling has one clear meaning, that cannot be interpreted or is open to an interpretation with different levels of potential meaning.
If an obligatory element of an action is omitted that action remains unfulfilled. For example, if one omits an obligatory act of prayer, the prayer is invalid and deemed unperformed.
Necessary
Necessary (wajib):
Is a firm command affirmed by a text that allows the possibility of interpretation.
Denying something necessary is corruption (fisq) but not disbelief.
Leaving it is sinful. It’s less of a sin than omitting the fard but considered a heavy sin nonetheless.
It’s a command that is derived from a text that is not decisive but firmly sound. The window of interpretation is open for these rulings (assuming it’s sound and valid).
Only the Hanafis employ this category whereas the other legal schools subsume the necessary rulings in the confirmed sunna category.
Confirmed Sunna
Confirmed Sunna (sunna mu’akkada):
Is that which our Prophet or the Companions did most of the time (and was not of worldly habits).
This is also called the “emphasized” sunna.
One who leaves it without excuse deserves reproach, not punishment. It’s blameworthy but not sinful. However, leaving it habitually is sinful because it entails turning away from the guidance of the Prophet whom we have been commanded to follow.
The emphasized sunnan are always that which the Prophet (and his Companions) invariably did.
Recommended
Recommended (mustahabb):
Is that which our Prophet did sometimes or was of his worldly habits.
The one who performs it is rewarded, and one who does not is not worthy of reproach nor considered sinful nor blameworthy.
Worldly habits: those things of the Prophet’s personal desires and not necessarily a religious command. The emphasized sunna were commands and not of his worldly habits.
Permissible
Permissible (mubah):
Entails neither reward nor punishment. Such acts are rewarded, however, if accompanied by a good intention.
Being wasteful in using the permitted is blameworthy and can even become sinful if excessive.
Intention: affirming to seek the good pleasure (ridwan) of Allah with sincerity and halalness in all actions.
Somewhat Disliked
Somewhat Disliked (makruh tanzihan):
Is that which one has been commanded to leave, even though it is not sinful. The one who leaves it is rewarded, and the one who does it acts sub-optimally.
To commit it is to lose out on rewards, and there is no redress for it. Meaning, the opportunity is lost to set it aright again.
Prohibitively Disliked
Prohibitively Disliked (makruh tahriman):
Is that which one has been firmly commanded to leave, through a indecisive text open to the possibility of interpretation.
Denying such a command entails misguidance but not disbelief. Performing such an action is sinful.
Forbidden
Forbidden (haram):
The forbidden is that which we have been firmly commanded to leave, through a decisively established text that is not open to interpretation.
Sources
- Rabbani, Faraz. Absolute Essentials of Islam. Chapter: “The Rulings of the Sacred Law.”
- How Are the Actions of Morally Responsible Individuals Categorized?
- The Hanafi Madhhab’s Approach to Classifying Legal Rulings
- Ibn Abidin. Radd al-Muhtar.
- Ala’ al-Din al-Bukhari. Kashf al-Asrar ‘ala Usul al-Bazdawi.