Ahkam in the context of "Islamic"

Sharia (/ʃəˈriːə/; Arabic: شَرِيعَة, romanized: sharīʿah, lit. 'path [to water]', IPA: [ʃaˈriːʕa]), also transliterated as Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah, is a body of religious law that form the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology sharīʿah refers to immutable, intangible divine law, in contrast to fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), which refers to its interpretations by Islamic scholars. Sharia, or fiqh as traditionally known, has always been used alongside customary law from the very beginning in Islamic history; it has been elaborated and developed over the centuries by legal opinions issued by qualified jurists – reflecting the tendencies of different schools – and integrated with various economic, penal and administrative laws issued by Muslim rulers; and implemented for centuries by judges in the courts until recent times, when secularism was widely adopted in Islamic societies.

Traditional theory of Islamic jurisprudence recognizes four sources for al-sharia: the Qur'an, sunnah (or authentic ahadith), ijma (lit. consensus) (may be understood as ijma al-ummah (Arabic: إجماع الأمة) – a whole Islamic community consensus, or ijma al-aimmah (Arabic: إجماع الائـمـة) – a consensus by religious authorities), and analogical reasoning. It distinguishes two principal branches of law, rituals (Ibadah) and social dealings (Muamalat); subsections family law, relationships (commercial, political / administrative) and criminal law, in a wide range of topics assigning actions – capable of settling into different categories according to different understandings – to categories (ahkam) mainly as: mandatory, recommended, neutral, abhorred, and prohibited. Beyond legal norms, Sharia also enters many areas that are considered private practises today, such as belief, worshipping, ethics, clothing and lifestyle, and gives to those in command duties to intervene and regulate them.

Farḍ (Arabic: فرض) or farīḍah (فريضة) or fardh in Islam is a religious duty commanded by God. The word is also used in Turkish, Persian, Pashto, Urdu, Hindi, Bangla (spelled farz or faraz), and Malay (spelled fardu or fardhu) in the same meaning. Muslims who obey such commands or duties are said to receive hasanat (حسنة), ajr (أجر) or thawab (ثواب) for each good deed.

Fard or its synonym wājib (واجب) is one of the five types of ahkam (أحكام) into which fiqh categorizes acts of every Muslim. The Hanafi fiqh, however, does not consider both terms to be synonymous, and makes a distinction between wajib and fard, the latter being obligatory and the former slightly lesser degree than being obligatory.

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". Synonyms of mustahabb include masnun and mandub. The opposite of mustahabb is makruh (discouraged).

Mubāḥ (Arabic: مباح) is an Arabic word roughly meaning "permitted", which has technical uses in Islamic law. "Mubah" is an Islamic jurisprudential term that refers to an action for which a person has no specific obligation. Consequently, performing or abstaining from it is considered equally permissible, and neither action results in reward or punishment from the perspective of God in Islam.

In uṣūl al-fiqh (Arabic: أصول الفقه, lit. 'principles of Islamic jurisprudence'), mubāḥ is one of the five degrees of approval (ahkam):

In Islamic terminology, something which is makruh or makrooh (Arabic: مكروه, transliterated: makrooh or makrūh) is "discouraged". This is one of the five categories (al-ahkam al-khamsa) in Islamic law – wajib/fard (obligatory), Mustahabb/mandub (recommended), mubah (neutral), makruh (disapproved), haram (forbidden).

Though a makruh act is not haram (forbidden) or subject to punishment, a person who abstains from this act will be rewarded. Muslims are encouraged to avoid such actions when or as possible. It is one of the degrees of approval (ahkam) in Islamic law. In the terminology of Islamic jurisprudence, "Makruh" refers to an action that is not forbidden to do, but had better to be abandoned.

Haram (/həˈrɑːm, hæˈ-, hɑːˈ-, -ˈræm/ ; Arabic: حَرَام ḥarām [ħɑˈrɑːm]) is an Arabic term meaning 'taboo'. This may refer to either something sacred to which access is not allowed to the people who are not in a state of purity or who are not initiated into the sacred knowledge; or, in direct contrast, to an evil and thus "sinful action that is forbidden to be done". The term also denotes something "set aside", thus being the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew concept חרם (ḥērem) and the concept of sacer (cf. sacred) in Roman law and religion. In Islamic jurisprudence, haram is used to refer to any act that is forbidden by Allah and is one of the five Islamic commandments (الأحكام الخمسة al-ʾAḥkām al-Ḵamsa) that define the morality of human action.

Acts that are haram are typically prohibited in the religious texts of the Quran and the sunnah category of haram is the highest status of prohibition. Something that is considered haram remains prohibited no matter how good the intention is or how honorable the purpose is. Sins, good, and meritorious acts are placed on the mizan (weighing scales) on the Day of Judgement and are weighed according to the sincerity of the doer. Views of different madhhabs or legal schools of thought can vary significantly regarding what is or is not haram based on the scholarly interpretation of the core religious texts (Quran and hadith).