A shari’a description of (and ruling or hukm on) an act or conduct which a Muslim has to avoid or refrain from. However, an individual committing it would not be punished or discredited on that account. In other words, makrooh is an act/ conduct that would incur neither punishment nor moral blame according to the majority of fuqaha (Islamic jurists) or jumhur. It is often said that “if an individual leaves a makrooh , reward is expected; and if he/ she does it, no punishment is enacted”. Fuqaha classify human actions according to their desirability into five categories, among which is makrooh (also spelled makruh). Under shari’ah, makrooh comes in two categories: makrooh tahrimi (strictly forbidden) and makrooh tanzihi (the prohibition is not definite and binding).

Correspondingly, makrooh may also refer to anything that if an individual uses or consumes it in moderation, it is not forbidden, and if used or consumed in excess it becomes forbidden (haram). A specific type of makrooh was mentioned in Hanafi references: makrooh tahrimi. It refers to specific acts that entail moral blame but not material punishment (i.e., anything that is outspokenly discouraged but without a hard evidence that would otherwise render it haram).

An example of makrooh is overspending and unnecessary spending, whether in personal or commercial spheres.

Makrooh (مكروه) is Arabic for abominable, reprehensible, undesirable, detested, disapproved, etc.