#Study Fiqh - Islamic Jurisprudence Part 14 Mustahab (also called Masnoon or Mandoob) In essence Mustahab refers to all of the Sunnah (using the word as Jurists would) acts in the study of Fiqh. It can also be simply defined as the opposite of Makrooh. While the Sunnah acts are one degree less then wajib they are considered actions of ibadah that are requested of an individual. In the case of as-sunnan, the request is from Allah, but is not considered an obligation; meaning that while one can attain great rewards by its performance, there is no punishment for the one who leaves it off occasionally; although it should not become a regular habit to leave off the sunnah in its entirety. What are some of the Mustahab actions? It includes all of the secondary acts of worship performed, on a regular basis, by the Prophet (saw). A strong example would be what is termed “as-Sunnah al-Mooakadah,” or “the established sunnah” of the Prophet (saw). One of these established acts are the extra “sunnah salat” performed by the Prophet (saw) before and after each of the five main salat. These are the sunnah al-mooakadah prayers he (saw) would perform always, aslong as he was not traveling. They are outlined in the table shown below: 2 before fajr 4 before Dhuhr and 2 after None before Asr none after Maghrib 2 after Isha 2 after and Witr How do you know if something is Sunnah al-Mooakadah? Firstly, the Prophet (saw) ALWAYS performed these acts. Secondly, he (saw) ordered others to do it. Thirdly, he (saw) mentioned the reward of doing these actions for a prolonged period of time. For example, praying the 12 rakat is something the Prophet (saw) always did, woke up his family and ordered them to do it and told us in a hadith in Bukhari narrated by ibn Omar (ra) that performing it over a long time carries the reward of receiving a palace in the heavens. If the sunnah acts, such as Sunnah al-Mooakadah, are not a requirement, then why perform them? Firstly, to increase one’s Imaan. Secondly, is to gain more reward.The Prophet (saw) related to us that Allah would build a house in heaven for the one who performs all the sunnah al-Mooakadah prayers along with the obligatory prayers. Also, in another hadith it is stated that the hell fire would not touch the person who had performed all the Sunnah al-Mooakadah prayers. Thirdly, performance of these sunnah prayers makes up for the deficiencies in your obligatory salat. For example, if there was not enough khooshoo’ in your compulsory salat then what you gained in your sunnah salat replaces what you lost in the obligatory salat. Lastly, and most important, is that the mustahab actions serve as protection for the wajibat actions. For example, if a person wakes up early and prays the 2 rakat sunnah for Fajr—would that person return to sleep before praying the 2 rakat Wajib? Of course not! If a person came to the mosque for Dhuhr, would he pray the four rakat sunnah, stop to watch the people pray the 4 rakat Dhuhr and then perform his 2 rakat sunnah afterward? Of course not! So these Mustahab acts serve as protection for the worships themselves. Another example of this would be fasting on Mondays and Thursdays as the Prophet (saw) taughtus. Why? To protect the fasting during Ramadan—even a training for a person before the actual month comes. Sadaqa protects what? Zakat! Umra’ is a protection of what? Hajj! This is the first level of Mustahab. The second level of Mustahab are actions that fall into what is deemed “Sunnah Ghairee-Mooakadah,” actions that are not requested or even established. For example praying four rakat before Asr or Isha, or even the nafal acts of worship, as is in the case that between the azan and the iqaama there is room for nafal salat. These are not regularly established salat by the Prophet (saw). The third level of Mustahab includes following the actions of the Prophet (saw) that were of his (saw) own choice. These are actions done by the Prophet that were not recommended but because the Prophet did them they would be seen as virtuous if someone followed his example in them to seek nearness to him in all conduct. This includes things like growing out the hair to past the ears for a man or wearing a turban and so on.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 09:00:00 +0000
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