Journal of Contemporary Maqasid Studies

A Reading of the Book al-Ta’essis al-I’etimani lil Ilm al-Maqasid

Ismail Hassani — 2024-01-27

The Need for A Maqasid-Based Critique

Jamila Tilout — 2024-01-27

في الحاجة إلى النقد المقاصدي

Jamila Tilout — 2024-01-27

In Focus Maqāsid Al-Sharīʿah And Ijtihād As Instruments Of Civilisational Renewal

Mohammad Hashim Kamali — 2024-01-27

This article develops the idea of a maqāsid-based framework for civilisational renewal (tajdīd hadārī), a broad and engaging prospect that also involves a review and reappraisal of the methodology of Islamic jurisprudence relating to the maqāsid. The author argues that this would enable Muslims to widen the scope and horizon of the maqāsid or objectives of Islamic law from their currently legalistic leanings towards the wider perspective of civilisational renaissance.

The Maqasid Project in the International Institute of Islamic Thought

Hasan Shahid — 2024-01-27

This paper investigates the presence of the maqasid-based approach in the scientific project of the International Institute of Islamic Thought, in its manifestations, especially at the level of its written publications and works within maqasid thought or its integration with other disciplines. Accordingly, this paper strives to trace the fragments of the IIIT’s maqasid project, collect and rearrange it, and bring it closer to the reader, through induction, the aim of which is to scrutinize the position of maqasid in the thought of the Institute and to review and evaluate its project. To achieve this, the paper proposes a structure of two sections: the first is the foundational historical examination of the position of maqasid in the Institute’s philosophy, which includes two subsections, namely, the emergence of the International Institute, its purpose and philosophy, and the position of the maqasid within the vision of the Institute. The second section: is a teleological functional analysis of the manifestations of the maqasid and its dimensions. This is realized through five subsections, the first of which is in the theoretical dimension, the second is in the originating dimension, the third is in the activation dimension, the fourth is in the evaluative dimension, and the fifth is in the integrative dimension.

Contemporary Maqasid Renewal

Youssef 'Atyia — 2024-01-27

The investigation of the Book of Al Mouwafakat (The reconciliations) by Imam Al-Shatibi constituted a resumption of the process of ijtihad and renewal in the fundamental lesson of objectives and a new awakening of the Muslim mind in general. The Maqasid lesson therefore experienced a new phase in terms of composition, classification, and interest, and then the prime objectives of the Shari’ah got a consensus among students, thinkers, and diligent scholars alike. It has also become the most requested thing among all trends of contemporary Islamic thought, regardless of the multiplicity and difference of their intellectual premises and references. Purposeful practice and purposeful thought have become a basic requirement, not only from within the Shari’ah sciences, but also from other cognitive circles, including social, political, economic, and experimental ones. However, this increasing interest in the field of objectives was not free from problems and imbalances, some of which were linked to the approach that deals with them, while others were linked to the method of employing them. Such a situation made some people fear the field of objectives, just as those before them had feared the call to open the door to ijtihad, which contributed to the emergence of two groups that stood on opposite sides in dealing with the purposes of Shari’ah law and in implementing it (one group was fearful and the other was lax), or to say it otherwise (one was rebellious and the other was hesitant). So, it was necessary for a third party to emerge so as to redress the balance, a moderate and just party that constantly seeks to control the course of the objectives and clarify the intention of each intended ,for the sake of protecting its scope and securing its fruits. This is so that the lesson of objectives is freed from those who are fearful as well as from those who are negligent. Hence, a group of virtuous people rose to that task, carrying diligent and innovative visions. They mainly sought to renew the Maqasid and fundamentalist lesson in general. So, to what extent did their renewal efforts succeed in what they called for and worked on? Were their efforts sufficient to answer the question of renewal in the fundamental lesson of objectives? And what are the foundations and mechanisms on which they built their innovative projects?

Three-dimensional Natural Combination, Covenant, Fitrah, and Maqasid

Noura Bouhanneche — 2024-01-27

The aim of the rise of the science of jurisprudence, fiqh comes together in an instrumental pattern, that assumes the disciplinary formulation of human conduct, thus achieving legal and moral objectives, by which to preserve the moral essence of man. When we analyse the cognitive and methodological context of fiqh, we find out that its systematic structure is revealed through the existence of an authority that guarantees legitimacy. By that, we mean the charter in its communicative and then applied style, which has been ensured qualitatively by Sunnah. Within the framework of the charter, the jurist compares the event which occurs in the existential experience, with the referential law of Sharia, in order to infer a ruling. This has a role in constructing the disciplinary status of human conduct. In fact, it is the same practical process that the moralist launches in the field of applied ethics, within a secular framework, and a rational tool The current condition is subject of a normative confusion that has afflicted humanity with moral and normative deafness, and it is thus similar to what afflicted it at the Tower of Babel, as the lack of understanding has moved from language to moral standards. The implied understanding in knowledge of moral standards has disappeared because nihilism and ambiguity are controlling the existential aspect of humanity. The sign of this referential dispersion and the values disappearance has impelled the quest for a philosophical field, in order to reformulate morality, as the adjacent crisis nowadays is ethical par excellence. Accordingly, philosophy has its role in reviving the ethical concern through examination and investigation. In this context, fiqh as an Islamic account has the merit in moral disciplinary awareness that would re-intensify the shaky looseness of the present morality, and the purposeful reconsideration of the contemporary human condition.

Covenants in the Qurʾān

Halim Rane — 2024-01-27

Covenant (‘ahd and mīthāq) occupies a central place in the Qurʾān but has been understudied and underrepresented in discourses about Islam. This article contributes to redressing this lacuna by conducting a content analysis of the Qurʾān, specifically the terms ‘ahd and mīthāq that refer to the concept of covenant. It applies the Maqāṣid Methodology and Framework developed by Jasser Auda to examine the concepts, objectives, values, commands, universal laws, groups, and proofs associated with covenants in the Qurʾān. Reading the Qurʾān in light of covenants provides a new perspective on issues of human existence and coexistence, including interreligious relations, coexistence with non-Muslims, and conditions governing the legitimate use of armed force in Islam. The article highlights the centrality and significance of covenants in the Qurʾān and contends that the study of covenants in the Qurʾān and sunnah ought to be integrated into Islamic studies curricula.

A Critical Analysis of The Existing Maqasid-Based Welfare Index

Muhammad Sri Wahyudi Suliswanto — 2024-01-27

Maqasid al-Shariah based welfare measurement is a welfare measurement tool that covers all dimensions of welfare, both material and non-material. According to the Maqasid al-Shariah theory put forward by Al-Ghazali and Al-Shatibi; which was later expanded further into the socio-economic context (Chapra, 2008). Chapra is talking about how we need to expand the application of al-Maqasid to make it more practical and effective. This is because al-Maqasid is a philosophical principle that needs to be simplified so that it can be put into practice. Many contemporary researchers have implemented maqasid al-shariah in measuring development or welfare instruments with various modifications related to the sub-variables. However, most of them give equal weight to each maqasid component. Even though most Muslim scholars give different priorities to each maqasid component. Therefore, this study will criticize 15 articles on the maqasid-based welfare index as a first step to propose improvements to the maqasid-based welfare index measurement. To achieve the research objectives, the method used in this research is an integrative literature review. This study proposes an index and indicator model in integrating the five dimensions of Maqasid al-Syariah in measuring welfare.

Aulia Rahmat — 2024-01-27