This was the opening lecture of a series of lectures organised by the Al-Furqan Maqasid Centre in the Philosophy of Islamic Law, delivered in the Faculty of Dár al-Ulum at Cairo University, on 26th of February 2006.
The lecture started with an introduction on the Maqasid Research Centre, with an objective to promote new studies in the philosophy of Islamic law, especially related to its purposes and underlying objectives (maqasid).
The lecturer, Professor Mohammad Salim al-Awwa, outlined a typology of positions that various writers had taken from the topic of maqasid, and called for a ‘centrist’ position, in which specific scripts are understood in light of their holistic principles and objectives. He also explained how the Centrist School could guide and develop contemporary Islamic revival.
Then, Professor al-Awwa elaborated on the role of the purposes of Islamic law (maqasid) in contemporary renewal (ijtihād), based on a number of guidelines he proposed. Afterwards, as a case study, he surveyed a large number of decrees of the Egyptian Supreme Court, in which statutes were evaluated based on their fulfillment of maqasid.
The lecture concluded with a recommendation for researchers to continue to uncover and utilize the purposes of Islamic law (maqasid).
