Maqasid Al-Shariah: Made simple‎

Maqasid al-Shari’ah, or the higher goals and objectives of Islamic law, is an important and yet ‎somewhat neglected theme of the Shari’ah. Generally, the Shari’ah is predicated on the benefits of the ‎individual and that of the community, and its laws are designed so as to protect these benefits and ‎facilitate improvement and perfection of the conditions of human life on earth. This easy to read guide ‎gives a bird’s eye view of the subject, simplifying its main principles to help readers understand the ‎subject of maqasid al-shari’ah and how it explains the ‘wisdoms behind rulings.’‎

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The paper focuses on a general characterisation of maqasid al-shari’ah and its origins in the Quran; the ‎classification of maqasid; historical developments and the contributions of some of the leading ulama to ‎the theory of maqasid; the differential approaches the ulama have taken toward the identification of ‎maqasid; and finally the relevance of maqasid to ijtihad and the ways in which maqasid can enhance ‎the scope and caliber of ijtihad.‎

Maqasid Al-Shariah: A Beginner’s Guide

Current applications (or rather, misapplications) of Islamic law are reductionist rather than holistic, ‎literal rather than moral, one-dimensional rather than multidimensional, binary rather than multi-‎valued, deconstructionist rather than reconstructionist, and causal rather than teleological. There is lack ‎of consideration and functionality of the overall purposes and underlying principles of the Islamic law ‎as a whole. Further, exaggerated claims of ‘rational certainty’ (or else, ‘irrationality’) and ‘consensus of ‎the infallible’ (or else, ‘historicity of the scripts’) add to lack of spirituality, intolerance, violent ‎ideologies, suppressed freedoms, and authoritarianism.‎

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Thus, a maqasidi approach takes juridical issues to a higher philosophical ground, and hence, overcomes ‎‎(historical) differences over politics between Islamic schools of law, and encourages a much-needed ‎culture of conciliation and peaceful coexistence. Moreover, the realization of purposes should be the ‎core objective of all fundamental linguistic and rational methodologies of ijtihad, regardless of their ‎various names and approaches. Thus, the validity of any ijtihad should be determined based on its level ‎of achieving ‘purposefulness,’ or realizing maqasid al-shari’ah.‎

Mohammad Hashim Kamali