Al-Maqasid al-Shari’ah (the Comprehensive Objectives of Shari’ah)
Dr Maszlee Malik
In harmonizing the rational and revelation, thus avoiding a literal textual approach to
the revelation, Muslim scholars have engaged with both the Qur‟an‟s and the
Sunnah‟s implicit messages through varying methods. Those methods were applied
to deduct the universal meaning to understand the hidden objectives God tried to
convey to human beings. Such meaning prevails in the words of Ibrahim al-Nakha‟i
(died 96H) as: “Verily, the rulings of Allah have their own specific objectives which
are reflected as benefit and wisdom upon mankind”1. With the same understanding,
another classical jurist, Al-Izz bin Abdul Salam claims that “the greatest of all the
objectives of the Qur´An is to facilitate benefits (masalih) and the means that secure
them and that the realization of benefit also included the prevention of harm”2. It
could be comprehended from his word that all the obligations of the Shari’ah were
predicated on securing benefits for the people in this world and the next, and it is the
duty of Muslims to discover them and thus observing those objectives in their life
and during the implementation of those duties3.
These objectives were later expounded by al-Ghazali who maintains that the
objective of Shari’ah is to preserve or protect the masalih (singular: maslahah),
exemplified by five main essentials of human beings: faith (din), life (nafs),
intellectual (‘aql), property (mAl) and lineage (nasl)4. Al-Ghazali believes that the
major purpose of Shari’ah law is to „safeguard‟ or preserve those essentials, which
This paper is specially prepared for the Penang Institute-G25 Forum on „MAQASID SYARIAH IN A
CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY‟, 31 October 2015, Bayan Lepas, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
Dr Maszlee Malik is a senior lecturer at International Islamic University Malaysia IIUM, he can be
contacted at [email protected].
1
Al-Obeidi, Hammadi (1992). al-Shatibi wa Maqa asid al-Syariah (al-Shatibi and Maqasid al-
Shari‟ah). Tripoli : Mansyurat Kulliyyah ad-Da‟wa al-Islamiyyah, p. 132.
2
Abdul Salam, Al-Izz (n.d.). Qawa’id al-Ahkam (Islamic Legal Maxim). Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-
„Ilmiyyah, vol. 1, p. 9.
3
Al-Obeidi, ibid.
4
Al-Ghazali suggests that: “In its essential meaning it (maslahah) is an expression for seeking
something useful (manfa’ah) or removing something harmful (maÌarrah). But this is not what we
mean, because seeking utility and removing harm are the purposes (maqasid) at which the creation
(khalq) aims and the goodness (SalAÍ) of creation consists in realizing their goals (Maqasid). What we
mean by Maslahah is the preservation of the Maqasid (objective) of the Shari’ah law, which consists
of five things: preservation of religion, of life, of reason, of descendants and of property. What assures
the preservation of these five principles (uSËl) is Maslahah and whatever fails to preserve them is
mafsadah and its removal is Maslahah” (al-Ghazali, Op. Cit., vol. 1, pp. 286-7).
eventually bring benefit for human life. Due to such rationale, al-Tufi concludes that
the preservation of these objectives consists in both “attracting utility” (jadhb al-naf’)
and “repelling harm” (raf’ al- Darar), and should be used as the major source of law
after the Qur‟an and the Sunnah. 5 He adds furthermore that in some cases of
mu’amalat (contracts and transactions), maqasid would supersede some minor
rulings in the Qur‟an and the Sunnah to achieve the highest objectives. However, in
the issues of ‘ibadat (rituals or spiritual duties) which is the direct interactions with
God, and considered as God‟s rights, the human mind cannot and should not attempt
to discern the reasons behind the textual injunctions unlike the mu’amalat, where
God delegated to humanity the right and duty to set up just rules and regulations in
accordance with the public interest (maslahah).
It could be noticed that prior to al-Shatibi‟s definition of al-maqasid, other writers
namely al-Juwayni, al-Ghazali, and al-Izz bin Abdul Salam emphasized more on the
notion of „protection‟ and „preservation‟. The word „hifz‟ (protection) has been
recognized as the ultimate objective of Shari’ah. As aforesaid, al-Ghazali coins in his
al-Mustasfa that the highest objective of Shari’ah is to „preserve‟ or „protect‟ faith,
life, intellectual, lineage and wealth or property6. According to Awdah, Al-Juwayni
who preceded al-Ghazali also points out that the maslahah (benefit) (which he
classified into three categories) are to be „protected‟7. Similarly, Al-Izz bin Abdul
Salam, despite of his general statement of maslahah as mentioned earlier (which is
the general meaning of maqasid), happened to seclude the meaning of maslahah into
the connotation of „Hifz‟ or protection too8.
Nevertheless, Al-Shatibi manages to bring a better and more comprehensive meaning
of the maqasid, when he added the element of „promotion‟ instead of protection or
5
Al-Tufi, Najmudin (1989). al-Ta’yin fi Syarh al-Arba’in (al-Ta’yin in Explaining al-Nawawi‟s forty
Hadiths). Beirut: Muassasah al-Risalah, p. 239.
6
(See: Al-Ghazali, Op. Cit., vol. 1, p.172.) However, al-Risuni maintains that Abdul Malik bin
Abdullah al-Juwayni or known as ImAm al-×aramayn (478H/ 1085 AD) (the Imam of the two holy
sanctuaries) was the first person to classify the maqasid al-Shari’ah into three major categories:
Essential, Complementary or Embellishment and Desirable or Luxury (Daruriyyah, ÍAjiyyAt,
taÍsÊniyyAt) all relating in one-way or another to maslahah. His pupil, al-Ghazali later on developed
JuwaynÊ‟s idea further, by classifying the Maqasid into the preservation of the five essentials as
discussed earlier. (Al-Risuni, Ahmad (1995). Nazariat al-Maqa asid ‘inda al-Imam al-Shatibi (al-
Shatibi‟s Theory of al-Maqa asid (Highest Aims of Shari‟ah)). Beirut: al-Ma‟had al-„Alami li al-Fikr
al-Islaamiy, p. 124)
7
Awdah, Jaseer (2006). Fiqh al-Maqasidi: Inatah al-Ahkaam al-Syar’iyyah bi Maqasidihaa (Fiqh al-
Maqasidi: Formulation of Islamic Legal Rulings Through Islamic Higher Objectives of Shari’ah).
Virgina: International Institute of Islamic Thought, p. 16.
8
Abdul Salam, ibid.
„Hifz‟ per se. He suggests that Shari’ah is not only being revealed to protect or
preserve the maslahah, but it also promote the maslahah in order to realize the
benefit for human life. The five essentials in the human life (or six according to
some) are not only being protected and preserved, but also being promoted and
propagated as could be fathomed from the deduction reasoning of the revelation.
Hence, the word „Hifz‟ might not be suitable in such sense; instead, the word
„ri’Ayah‟ or observance, which is more comprehensive and extensive, is a more
suitable term for such a notion.
With such extensive concepts of maslahah, it could be interpreted as infusing a real
substance into the external shell (of Islamic rulings and law), thus proves that moral
obligation is related to Divine Omnipotence and Will and how the former in fact
necessarily flows from the latter9. With the proper understanding of such philosophy,
the application of the true understanding of revelation could avoid the legal
positivism approach, which acts according to the formulated law without responding
to the moral consequences of it.
Drawing on the Qur‟anic verses: “We sent you not but as a mercy for all creatures”
(107: 21); “Allah does not wish to place you in difficulty, but to purify you, and to
complete His favour to you” (6: 5); and “In the Law of Equality there is (saving of)
life to you”(179: 2), al-Shatibi concludes that “Upon exploration of Shari’ah we have
concluded that it was only set up to serve the interests of man. This is a conclusion
that no one can dispute. Canon laws were made for only one purpose and that is to
serve the interests of humans in this life and in the Hereafter”. In his magnum opus,
al-MuwAfaqAt, which is one of the foremost treaties in this field, al-Shatibi
categorizes into three classes the maqasid that divine messengers were sent to fulfil
in the lives of humans. There are masalih Daruriyyah (essential requirements)
without which life will be ruined, masalih Hajiyyah (requirements pertaining to
general needs) without which man can survive but maybe in distress and hardship,
and masalih Tahsinniyyah (ameliorative requirements) whose absence would not
seriously undermine the quality of life10.
9
Rahman, Fazlur (1979). Islam. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 115.
10
al-Shatibi, Op. Cit., vol. 2, p. 326.
However, Ibn al-Qayyim presents the maqasid from a different angle through
emphasizing that justice and equity in ensuring welfare, as the utmost maslahah to be
preserved through Islamic Shari’ah. 11 Furthermore, he insisted that the means to
justice and equity could never be captured by a finite list; hence, reason will guide
the Muslims on how to ensure both justice and equity in changing circumstances. The
articulation of maqasid from this expanded point of view will be helpful in the effort
to develop policies based on Islamic ontology.
Similarly, Al-Qaradawi views the more inclusive approach to maqasid and further
extended the list of the maqasid according to the contemporary reality and discourse
to include social welfare and support (al-takaful), freedom, human dignity and
human fraternity, among the higher objectives and maqasid of the Shari‟ah12. These
are undoubtedly upheld by both the detailed and the general weight of evidence in the
Qur‟an and the Sunnah. Apart from him, a few other contemporary scholars also
proposed other essentials, which emerged as the result of modernity and the
development of human life. Environment and quality of life are amongst the themes
included in the proposal as part of the new Daruriyyah (essentials) being observed by
Shari’ah.13
To conclude the discussion about the importance of maqasid, we could summarize
that the maqasidic method represents a comprehensive holistic but rather universal
approach towards Shari’ah. Any studies conducted on Islam, the Shari’ah or the
epistemological sources of Islam must never abandon the discussion on maqasid. In
the same vein, maqasid is but a crucial tool in understanding the revelation or the
texts of the sources, in which the negation of it will lead to the misinterpretation of
the texts, hence Islam as a whole14.
In presenting a new normative governance theory based on Islamic epistemology,
highest objectives of the Shari’ah or maqasid al-Shari’ah should be the focal point of
the discussion, as maqasid helps to operationalize and articulate Islamic knowledge
into a mechanism of and principles for governance as a practical reality. In other
11
Ibn al-Qayyim, Muhammad bin Abu Bakar (n.d.). I’laam al-Muwaqi’in ‘an Rabb al-‘Alamin
(Guidance for the Mujtahid Scholars). Beirut: Matba‟ah Beyrut, pp. 309-11.
12
Al-Qaradhawi, Yusuf (1993). Malaamih al-Mujtama’ al-Muslim alladhi Nanshuduhu (Glimpse of
the Charecteristics of Islamic Society we Aim for). Cairo: Maktabah al-Wahbah.
13
Al-Qaradhawi, Yusuf (2001). Ri’ayat al-Biah fi al-Shari’ah al-Islamiyyah (Environmental
Preservation in Islamic Shari‟ah). Cairo: Dar al-Shuruq, pp. 47-8.
14
Awdah, Op. Cit.
words, under the shade of such argument, the maqasidic approach will assist the
quest to develop the aim of tawhidic reality into an Islamic governance model. As the
aforementioned ontological maxim is concerned, the aim of the vicegerency mission
of individuals is to fulfil the attainment of falah which leads to the benefit in both
worlds. The articulation of falah could be found in the comprehensive achievement
of maqasid al-Shari’ah. The accomplishment of all the tiers of maqasid (Daruriyyah,
ÍAjiyyAt and taÍsÊniyyAt) in the governance process can be a benchmark of an
accomplishment of „good‟ in the governance process. This situation can be explained
in the modern jargon of „human well-being‟15.
If the maqasid is to be perceived as the aim through the articulation of falah then it is
no longer a mechanistic element to the governance process. It is a means and goal by
itself. By such, good governance from an Islamic point of view is a governance
process that consists of the maqasidic elements to fulfil the maqasidic end.
Accordingly, within this paradigm, the governance process is not just a consequence
of an independent deontological activity for just a sheer discharge of responsibilities
for the sake of delivering the vicegerency tasks. In fact, it is to be viewed from a
virtue based consequentialistic paradigm. It is a process to attain a holistic end for the
benefits of individuals through its tawhidic individualistic paradigm, which goes
beyond the instrumental value meaning. This paradigm imposes multi-dimensions of
benefits, which encompass both individuals and community benefits, in this world
and the Hereafter16.
Additionally, maqasid al-Shari’ah provides valuable intellectual foundation for the
subsequent development of Islamic governance theory. One of the principal
objectives of the Shari‟ah is the prevention of mafsadah17. The induction of textual
15
Malik, Maszlee (2011). Constructing the Architectonics and Formulating the Articulation of Islamic
Governance: A Discursive Attempt in Islamic Epistemology, unpublished PhD Thesis in Durham
University. Available at: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/832/. Access Date: 31 January 2013. Pp. 249-51.
16
Malik, ibid.
17
The word mafsadah, derived from the root word fasada or fasad, has been mentioned almost fifty
times in the Qur´An and has a wide range of meanings, amongst others: “a state of disorder, or
disturbance, or of destruction, annihilation, waste, or ruin” (Lane, Edward William (1978). Arabic-
English Lexicon. London: Longman, vol. 1, p. 2396). It also connotes mischief, corruption,
exploitation, wrong, and all forms of injustice, mismanagement, anarchy, and chaos. Fasad is the
opposite of islah, derived from the root word Salaha, which literally means “good, incorrupt, sound,
right, or a proper state, or in a state of order” (Lane, Op. Cit., vol. 2, p. 216). Islah refers to a state of
equilibrium where things are in a proper order and balance. Muslim jurists have also used the words
sharr (evil) and darar (harm) as synonymous with mafsadah.
proofs in abundance point out the fact that removal of corruption (dar´ al-mafasid)
and acquisition of good (jalb al-masalih) are “the comprehensive objective of the
Shari’ah” and the “fundamental universal rule of the Shari’ah”18. Muslim jurists are
of the opinion that any measure that prevents a mafsadah is in line with the
objectives of the SharÊ´ah even if the latter does not provide any indication as to its
validity or otherwise provided however, that it should not turn a prohibited act into a
permissible one and vice versa19. The prevention of public harm or evil (mafsadah
‘ammah) should be amongst the priorities of Islamic governance according to the
orientation of maqasid al-Shari’ah.
However, the harm (mafsadah) due to the dynamic interaction of human life presents
itself in a variety of forms. It varies in degrees due to different contexts and societies,
and can hardly be enumerated, not even through the revelation for the dynamism of
the development of the human mind and its needs. Hence, the prevention of a certain
public harm (mafsadah) to public interest in a certain context requires diversity of
approaches and policies. In dealing with the issue of governance, maqasid determines
the radius of policies governing the society by accumulating general benefits and
avoiding harm to the whole community to enhance public interest (maslahah
‘ammah). The eradication of mafsadah (in its various forms) that may lead to
underdevelopment, unemployment, and economic crises and impede the
accomplishment of the maqasidic goals is indeed an act of good (Islamic)
governance20.
Above all, the whole idea of maqasid implies a comprehensive implementation of
justice in the community through the preservation and promotion of human well-
being, which is the ultimate aim of a governance process. Maqasid as a part of
epistemological sources in Islam is becoming a foundation to define human well-
being. Thus, the articulation of Islamic ethos that might be useful for governance
such as social equilibrium, justice, sustainable development, rule of law, efficiency,
empowerment etc., will be taken under the shade of this maqasidic-based human
well-being consideration21. The activation of maqasid within such understanding can
18
Ibn „Ashur, Muhammad al-Tahir (2006). Ibn ‘Ashur Treatise on Maqasid al-Shari’ah. (Translated by
Tahir el-Mesawi). Virgina: International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), pp. 88-90.
19
al-Ghazali, Op. Cit., vol. 1, pp. 139-40.
20
Malik, Op. Cit., p. 251.
21
Malik, Op. Cit., p. 251.
be understood within the spirit of verse (2: 177) in al-Qur´An:
It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards East or West; but it is
righteousness to believe in Allah and the Last Day and the Angels and the
Book and the Messengers; to spend of your substance out of love for Him, for
your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask; and
for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayers and practice regular charity;
to fulfill the contracts which you made; and to be firm and patient in pain (or
suffering) and adversity and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the
people of truth, the God-fearing.
About the Author:
Dr Maszlee Malik, graduated his studies at Jordan in 1994. He is an undergraduate in
the field of fiqh and usul fiqh at al-Bayt University, Jordan and holds a master‟s
degree in the same field from the University of Malaya. He obtained his doctorate
degree (PhD) in the United Kingdom in Political Science. Maszlee also experienced
teaching at Durham University in the years 2008-9. He was also invited to be a guest
speaker for SOAS summer school on „Political Islam‟ for the two consecutive years
of 2009-2010 for the topic „Political Islamic Movements in South-East Asia‟. He
posses vast experience doing NGO charity works in Lebanon and Jordan since the
year 2004, that gave him a myriad of experience in dealing with political literatures in
Arabic language and the political situation in the Middle East. Furthermore, Maszlee
is also frequently invited as guest speaker by many Malaysian media to talk on the
issues relate to Political Islam, Middle Eastern Politics and Arab Spring. Currently
holding the post of assistant professor in the Faculty of Islamic Revealed Knowledge
and Human Sciences at the International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.
His research area is in Islamic jurisprudence, Contemporary Islamic Political
Thoughts and Movements and Good Governance.
