What it means
مباح (mobâh) comes from the Arabic root b-w-h or b-y-h, meaning “to be open, revealed, or permitted.” In Islamic jurisprudence it denotes an act that is legally neutral: performing it or avoiding it carries neither reward nor punishment. It sits at the center of the five-category system, between مستحب (recommended) on one side and مکروه (discouraged) on the other. In everyday Persian, مباح can also appear in the broader sense of “permitted” or “allowed,” though حلال (halâl) is the more common word for that meaning in casual speech.
How to use it
- این کار نه ثواب داره نه گناه، مباحه. (In kâr na savâb dâre na gonâh, mobâhe.) “This act has neither merit nor sin, it is mobâh.”
- از نظر فقهی، این موضوع مباحه. (Az nazar-e feqhi, in mowzu’ mobâhe.) “From a jurisprudential standpoint, this matter is mobâh.”
- خوردن غذاهای حلال مباحه مگه که حکم دیگهای داشته باشه. (Khordan-e ghazâhâ-ye halâl mobâhe mage ke hokm-e dige-i dâshte bâshe.) “Eating halal food is mobâh unless there is another ruling.”
- اون کار رو کردم چون مباح بود. (On kâr ro kardam chon mobâh bud.) “I did that act because it was mobâh.”
Cultural note
Islamic law does not treat every human action as spiritually charged. The category of مباح acknowledges that much of daily life, choosing what to wear, which route to walk, what hobby to pursue, is legally indifferent. Jurists sometimes note that a mobâh act can shift category depending on intention or circumstance: eating to gain strength for prayer becomes مستحب, while eating purely out of greed might edge toward مکروه. This flexibility reflects the broader Islamic legal principle that outcomes and intentions shape moral weight.