Question:
Someone claims food prepared for idol worship should not be called halal but should be called makruh. He says “Makruh” exists in Islam, and he quotes Qur’an 17:36 (or 17:37) and Bukhari 5975 as evidence. Is there such a category as Makruh in Islam?
Answer:
He argues that such food should not be called halal, nor declared haram, but should be labeled makruh (disliked). First, regarding the verse he quoted (Surah Al-Isra 17:36): it says not to follow that of which you have no knowledge, and that hearing, sight, and heart will be questioned. There is no mention of “makruh” in that verse.
In the hadith he quoted (Bukhari 5975), it says Allahﷻ dislikes three things: disrespecting mothers, burying their daughters alive, and useless talk without knowledge. The word used there indicates dislike, but it does not establish a separate legal category called “makruh” in the Qur’an and Sunnah terminology.
In the Qur’an and authentic hadith, rulings are clearly stated as halal (permissible) or haram (forbidden). Later juristic schools developed additional classifications like makruh (disliked). But as a direct textual category explicitly defined in the Qur’an in the way some claim, it is not presented as a separate third ruling between halal and haram in the basic scriptural terminology.
So, one must be careful when attributing something to Allahﷻ and His Messengerﷺ. If something is haram, say haram. If halal, say halal. Introducing categories without clear textual basis and claiming they are directly stated in the Qur’an requires proper evidence.
There are only two categories: haram and halal. One is permitted, the other is not permitted. There is nothing in between in the Qur’an or the Hadith called makruh as a separate category. So when someone brings an ayah or hadith that does not even mention it and claims there is a third category called makruh, that is incorrect.
At the same time, within what is haram, there are levels. Not all prohibited acts are equal. Murder is haram. Lying is also haram. But are they equal? Both are haram, yet the punishment is not the same. A person may lie frequently and not receive worldly punishment, but for murder there is severe punishment, even capital punishment. So although everything may fall under haram, there are certain degrees within it. Some haram actions carry severe warnings and prescribed punishments; others do not have worldly punishments but are still sins.
Some later scholars classified lighter prohibitions as makruh. But that classification was developed later; it is not a separate category explicitly stated in the Qur’an and Sunnah. Whatever they call makruh is still something to be avoided. The issue is simple: if it is permitted, it is halal; if it is not permitted, it is haram. That is the real distinction.For example, smoking is sometimes called makruh by some. But smoking causes harm, and whatever causes harm is prohibited. So it should fall under haram. There is no need to create a third label.
In some cases, the Prophetﷺ discouraged something yet was also reported to have done it. For example, he told people not to drink water while standing, yet at times he himself drank while standing. How do we understand that? The discouragement was guidance toward what is better, not an absolute prohibition. The better way is to sit and drink. Standing and drinking is still permissible. There is no need to label it makruh as a separate legal category. We understand that one action shows preference and the other shows permissibility.
So if something is proven with evidence to be halal, it is halal. If proven to be haram, it is haram. There are only these two in terms of clear rulings, though severity may differ within haram.