Arabic (حكم شرعي) for a shari’ah ruling (hukm) that relates to the acts and conduct of Muslims as to their ibadat (worship acts) and muamalat (economic/ commercial/ financial dealings and transactions). A shari’a ruling or ordinance that regulates an issue, act, or doing. Typically, shari’ah classifies rulings into five categories: obligatory (wajib), preferable or recommended (mustahabb), permissible (mubah), forbidden (muharram), and reprehensible (makruh).
Broadly speaking, hukm shar’i comes in two main classifications: 1) hukm taklifi (a hukm to define what to do and what not to do, or to give an option to believers as to their preferred actions) and 2) recommendable act/ conduct (mandoob– i.e., what is defined by means of nadb/ recommendation). An example of hukm taklifi is the prohibition of riba or excessive gharar in muamalat. On the other hand, the hukm to reduce the contract of debt (dain/ dayn) into writing is not decisive, but only a recommended practice.
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