The Recommended (Mandub)

Abstract

The recommended (mandub) is the opposite of the reprehensible (makruh). Mandub (also known as sunnah, mustahab, or nafl) denotes an act or conduct that the shariah has recommended, but which is not binding. Certain foods are not only halal but recommendable when taken, such as eating dates for Muslims at breakfast time in Ramadan, or when food combines the qualities of tayyib. To comply with the mandub earns one spiritual rewards, but no punishment is imposed for its neglect. The schools of law have employed a variety of other expressions for mandub, all of which share the basic meaning of recommendable and praiseworthy, albeit with finer distinctions that often consist of sound advice and cultural refinement