The Categories of Action in Islam

Islam categorizes and prioritizes actions for us. Some actions we must do, some only should. Some actions are prohibited, and some are only disliked. This categorization helps us focus on the most important things, and to establish our practice of Islam in a systematic manner.

Implications of this classification:

• fulfilling fard and avoiding haram has the highest priority and greatest reward;

• fulfilling fard and avoiding haram is more important than fulfilling mustahab and avoiding makruh.

How to use this classification

Importantly, this categorization works for all acts of worship, including the categories of prayer and actions inside salah. For example, when it comes to prayer there are 11 essential (fard) elements, which one needs to fulfill for the prayer to be valid. There are also wajib and sunnah actions in prayer. Knowing to which category each action belongs will allow you to pray correctly, and not miss anything important.

What we want to achieve

Our end goal is to observe all the fard and wajib, and follow as much of the sunnah as we can. It's a journey that we need to take gradually, and the one who succeeds is indeed a fortunate person. May Allah help and facilitate it all for us!