الإيضاح (Jun 2018)

"المقاصد عند الإمام الشاطبي Objectives of Shariah according to Imam Shâtibi "

  • Ishaq (DING HOU FEI)

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 36, no. 1
pp. 186 – 204

Abstract

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"Scholars of the Usul -early and recent- have paid utmost importance to the Maqâsid al-Shariah or the Objectives of Shariah and tried to substantiate, associate and link them with its sources, Qur’an and Sunnah, then to derive from them the Legislator’s or the Shari‘s purpose, the revelation’s true purpose and how it benefits the creatures in terms of promoting what is in their interest and shunning away what is harmful. These objectives became the point of interest for the jurists and scholars who toiled to understand the texts and what they connoted and they continue to venture into its depths and extract its treasures. It becomes quite evident from their exegeses of Qur’an and the Prophetic Traditions and elucidations of the juristic principles and issues. Imam al-Shâtibī and Ibn ‘Ashoor are two such scholars in this field who studied the Objectives of Shariah and contributed to this discipline so greatly that they became reference points for those who came after them. The basic principles in the field that were inferred by them are still its pillars. The Objectives of Shariah are divided into four kinds with reference to their benefits: the necessities, needs, improvements and supplements. The necessities are further divided into protection of Deen, protection of self, of intellect, of possessions and of race among others. Prudence demands that all means should be employed to safeguard these necessities. Thus knowing the Objectives of Shariah and their promulgation among the masses is quite important for the society since it leads towards promotion of the beneficial and shunning away the harmful elements in it."