Mustahabb (Arabic: مُسْتَحَبّ, lit. 'beloved thing') or Mandub (Arabic: المندوب, lit. 'delegate') 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) and wajib (compulsory). One definition is "duties recommended, but not essential; fulfilment of which is rewarded, though they may be neglected without punishment".[1] Synonyms of mustahabb include masnun and mandub. The opposite of mustahabb is makruh (discouraged).
Parallels have been drawn between the concept of mustahabb in Islamic law and the concept of supererogatory acts in the Western philosophical tradition.[2]
Examples
[edit]There are possibly thousands of mustahabb acts,[3] including:
- Sadaqah (charity outside of zakat)
- Saying As-salamu Alaykum
- Umrah (except in the Shafi'i and Hanbali madhhab, wherein it is fard)
- Saying SubhanAllah when seeing beautiful natural scenery
- Reciting Ayat al-Kursi or Surah al-Ikhlas when walking in nature
- Observing the crescent moon
- Saying the thunder du'a' when hearing thunder
- Waking up before Fajr (rather than staying up) [4]
See also
[edit]- Ihtiyat Mustahabb
- Makruh
- Supererogation, a similar concept in Western philosophy and religion
References
[edit]- ^ Reuben Levy, The Social Structure of Islam, p. 202
- ^ ZAROUG, ABDULLAHI HASSAN (1985). "THE CONCEPT OF PERMISSION, SUPEREROGATORY ACTS AND ASETICISM [sic] IN ISLAMIC JURISPRUDENCE". Islamic Studies. 24 (2): 167–180. ISSN 0578-8072. JSTOR 20847307.
- ^ Turner, Colin (2013-12-19). Islam: The Basics. Routledge. p. 133. ISBN 9781134296910. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
- ^ "ISLAM AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT". scholar.googleusercontent.com. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
External links
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