Modernity and the Transformations of Maqasid Discourse
Towards a Fluid Fiqh?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52100/jcms.v4i1.166Keywords:
Neo-maqasid scholars, modernity, fluid fiqh, al-Shatibi, Maqsid al-Sharia, Maqasid discourseAbstract
This paper discusses the renewal undertaken by Islamic thinkers in contemporary maqasid discourse. Despite their differences, two main developments can be identified: First, the shift towards rationalizing Sharia and excluding or even eliminating its devotional aspect; and second, the redefinition of the maqasid, expanding their number and interpretations. Through presenting different models of new interpretations of the maqasid, the researcher demonstrates how modernity has influenced this new maqasid discourse, not by adopting modern concepts, but by acquiring the fluid nature of modernity itself. The most significant transformation was the shift of maqasid into a flexible and malleable tool, capable of being used to either approach or distance from modern values. With this fluidity, maqasid often reflected the jurist’s ideological, social, and psychological biases, whether consciously or unconsciously. This represents a hindrance to the systematic structure of Islamic jurisprudence and its ability to provide the necessary societal regulation.
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