Debates on Maqāṣid: Towards Establishing a Dialogical Framework for Managing Disagreements Related to the Objectives of Islamic Law

Summary

This book represents a foundational attempt to bring to prominence the need for the “science of maqāṣid debates”. This represents a natural extension to the development of the Islamic law objectives discipline. Furthermore, it is a necessary driver for the renewal of Islamic thought, and developing disciplined scientific debate. Despite the Islamic law objectives (maqāṣid) discipline reaching a significant state of maturity in terms of theory, since al-Shāṭibī’s project, this progress was not complemented by the development of a methodological framework capable of organising the internal debate on maqāṣid, or indeed, manage disputes that surround their application in the issues of the time. Given this gap, the idea for this project came about, aiming to provide a comprehensive epistemological framework linking the in-depth rational consideration of maqāṣid, to the ethics and mechanisms of scientific debate.

The book is grounded on an in-depth inductive consideration (istiqrā’) of seminal Islamic heritage texts, and the praxis of jurisprudents (sing. faqīh) and intellectuals, from al-Ghazalī to Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Ṭǖfī, and al-Shāṭibī. The aim being the discovery of the rules, tools, and pathways relating to maqāṣid debate. Subsequently, weaving these into a clear methodological framework that can be activated in contemporary reality. This work is concerned with gathering the dispersed historical content on debates related to maqāṣid, subjecting it to analysis and classification. The aim being to establish the primary building blocks of a branch discipline that fills a gap in maqāṣid instruction.

The importance of the project lies in four principal dimensions, namely the scientific, methodological, applied, and the edification and societal.

This project combines inductive consideration of historical precedents, conceptual analysis, scientific criticism, and applied models, to propose a strategic conceptualisation restoring the maqāṣid’s vital function, as an interactive discipline that is not limited to theorising, but also promotes the function of organised collective dialogue. It is an invitation to revive the Muslim nation’s traditions of scientific debate, developing these further to suit the challenges of contemporary times, and creating the primary foundations of a new scientific edifice that can be added to, and expanded. I hope that the book paves the way towards an ever-renewing maqāṣid awareness, deep-rooted and practical, capable of conveying the message of Islamic law into reality with deep understanding, open-minded vision, and methodology based on sound dialogue, and respect for the values of scholarship, and etiquettes of disagreement.

I hope that the book paves the way towards an ever-renewing maqāṣid awareness, deep-rooted and practical, capable of conveying the message of Islamic law into reality with deep understanding, open-minded vision, and methodology based on sound dialogue, and respect for the values of scholarship, and etiquettes of disagreement.