Maqasid al-Shariah
Maqasid al-Shariah (مقاصد الشريعة) refers to the higher purposes, intentions, and ends for which Islamic law was revealed. While Fiqh focuses on extracting specific rulings from the texts, maqasid addresses the underlying wisdom (hikmah) and goals (maqasid) that ensure justice, mercy, and benefit (maslahah) are served.
This science provides a normative framework that balances textual fidelity with social functionality, and it prevents legalism from overriding the ethical core of the Sharia.
🧠 Classical Objectives
The most widely accepted classical framework, developed by al-Shatibi, outlines five core objectives:
- Preservation of Religion (ḥifẓ al-dīn)
- Preservation of Life (ḥifẓ al-nafs)
- Preservation of Intellect (ḥifẓ al-ʿaql)
- Preservation of Lineage (ḥifẓ al-nasl)
- Preservation of Property (ḥifẓ al-māl)
Some jurists added a sixth: ḥifẓ al-ʿirḍ (honour/reputation).
📘 Key Works and Figures
- Al-Muwafaqat by al-Shatibi
- Al-Maqasid by Al-Juwayni
- Al-Mustasfa by Al-Ghazali — foundational maqasid-based classification
- Contemporary revival: Ibn Ashur, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, and the ISLAMIC FIQH ACADEMIES
🔍 Applications
- Used in Usul al-Fiqh to override literal rulings when harm outweighs benefit
- Supports adaptive fatwa in Fiqh under changing conditions
- Integral to Islamic Political Theory and Islamic Economics
- Provides ethical criteria in fields like Bioethics, Environmental Ethics, and Human Rights in Islam
📘 Criticisms and Refutations of Maqasid al-Shariah
🔴 Maqasid is a Modern Innovation Separate from Usul al-Fiqh
Refutation:
- Maqasid al-Shariah is embedded in the classical usul tradition, particularly in the works of Al-Ghazali (al-Mustasfa), Al-Shatibi (al-Muwafaqat), and others.
- The error arises when modernists detach maqasid from its usuli foundations, applying it outside of Nusus.
- Valid maqasid must be derived via Istiqra (inductive reasoning) from revelation — not borrowed from Secular Ethics.
🔴 Maqasid Overrules Clear Texts
Refutation:
- No maqṣid can ever contradict a Qati text (qat’i al-thubut wa al-dalalah).
- Classical scholars treated maqasid as clarifying the application of text — not nullifying it.
- Invoking maqasid to override nass is intellectual deviance — indistinguishable from Legal Positivism.
Cf. Al-Shatibi, al-Muwafaqat: “Maqasid are valid only when derived from the shariah, not imposed externally.”
🔴 Maqasid Justifies Modern Islamic Reform
Refutation:
- Maqasid can support Fiqh al-Waqi (law responsive to context), but it is not an open door to liberal activism.
- Reforms must be internally anchored within Daruriyyat, Hajiyyat, Tahsiniyyat, not Western categories.
- “Islamic reform” through maqasid without Fiqh is merely secularism with Islamic vocabulary.
🔴 Maqasid Authorizes Laypeople to Reject Ijma
Refutation:
- Maqasid is a product of Ijtihad by Mujtahid scholars — not for public speculation.
- When non-scholars invoke maqasid to contest Ijma, it leads to epistemic chaos.
- Validity of maqasid requires Taʿaddud al-Mujtahidin — multiplicity of qualified derivations.
🔴 Justice, Freedom, and Human Rights Are Islamic Objectives
Refutation:
- These terms are heavily loaded with Enlightenment and Liberalism assumptions.
- In Islam, concepts like Adl (justice) and Hurriyah (freedom) are defined within divine ontology, not humanistic ethics.
- Uncritical absorption of these terms replaces tawhidic goals with secular philosophy.
🔴 Maqasid Evolves to Override Fixed Rulings
Refutation:
- Evolution of maqasid (tathawwur) applies only to Wasa’il (means), not to Maqasid al-Din (core objectives).
- Fixed rulings (muhkamat) are rooted in Divine Wisdom, not sociological trends.