THE INTERPLAY OF IJTIHĀD AND MAQĀṢID AL-SHARĪ‘AH IN PRE-MODERN LEGAL THOUGHT: EXAMINING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF AL-GHAZALI AND AL-SHATIBI

Abstract

The debate of ijtihād - its meanings, theorization and application, is one of the most noticeable debates in the modern Muslim intellectual space. In the contested backdrop of ‘closure of the gates of ijtihād’, the process of reproduction of ShÉrÊah‘ knowledge, civilizational renewal and forming a critical engagement with the socio-intellectual context of contemporary times through ijtihÉd gained coinage among different strata of Muslim scholarship, developing intra-Muslim conversations between traditionalists, modernists and progressives. In this debate, maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah as a concept, theory and philosophy has been repeatedly invoked by all three points of views, explaining it from their distinct positions. In this context, this paper attempts to offer an analysis of the pre-modern dialogue between ijtihād and maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah, revisions of the traditionally more predominant method of extension of law, qiyās, in context of Shāfi’īte four-source theory and employment of relatively more utilitarian tool, maṣlahah. Hence, the paper investigates the concepts of munāsabah and taḥqiq al-manāṭ vis-à-vis maqasid al-Shari’ah, employed by two most prominent advocates of maqāṣid thought in pre-modern scholarship, al-Ghazali (d. 1111 C.E) and al-Shatibi (d. 1388 C.E). Finally, the study attempts to locate the common ground between traditional theory of ijtihād and maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah, to explain the possibility of maqāṣid based ijtihād model.