Maqasid al-Sharia al-Islamiyya

Maqasid al-Sharia al-Islamiyya (The Higher Objectives of Islamic Law) is a treatise on Islamic legal theory and the philosophy of Islamic jurisprudence by the Tunisian scholar and Grand Imam of al-Zaytuna, Muhammad al-Tahir Ibn Ashur (1296–1394 AH / 1879–1973 CE) Maqasid al-Sharia al-Isla…+1. The work seeks to systematize the higher intents, universal principles, and underlying wisdoms of Islamic legislation as an independent scholarly discipline Maqasid al-Sharia al-Isla…+1.

Background and Purpose

The book originated from a series of lectures delivered by Ibn Ashur to students at the University of al-Zaytuna, after which the subject of maqasid was incorporated into the first-year curriculum of the higher Sharia division of the institution Maqasid al-Sharia al-Isla….

Ibn Ashur composed the work to address what he viewed as the limitations and contentious disputes within traditional usul al-fiqh (principles of jurisprudence) Maqasid al-Sharia al-Isla…+1. He argued that classical legal methodology had become heavily preoccupied with verbal and linguistic derivations from isolated texts, resulting in intractable sectarian disagreements and a neglect of the broader wisdom of Sharia Maqasid al-Sharia al-Isla…+1. His stated objective was to provide definitive (qat'i) universal foundations for legal reasoning (ijtihad) that would reduce sectarian discord among jurists, encourage fairness, and offer objective benchmarks for legal preference (tarjih) Maqasid al-Sharia al-Isla…+1.

Structure and Contents

The work is organized into three principal divisions Maqasid al-Sharia al-Isla…:

• Part One: Establishing the Objectives of Sharia: Examines the necessity of maqasid for the jurist, the evidential methods for demonstrating them, their hierarchical ranks (definitive and probabilistic), and the distinction between the disciplines of fiqh, usul al-fiqh, and maqasid al-shari'a Maqasid al-Sharia al-Isla…+1. Ibn Ashur outlines five domains of legal reasoning where the jurist requires knowledge of maqasid, particularly when addressing novel cases not covered by an explicit text or direct analogical deduction (qiyas) Nazariyat al-Maqasid inda….
• Part Two: General Objectives of Legislation (al-Maqasid al-Ammah): Treats the overarching purposes observed across all or most legal domains Nazariyat al-Maqasid inda…+1. These include the preservation of social order (hifz nizam al-umma), securing human welfare, averting harms, establishing equality, maintaining the innate human disposition (fitra), and ensuring legislative leniency (samaha) and universality Nazariyat al-Maqasid inda…+2. It also reviews the traditional tripartite division of necessities (daruriyyat), needs (hajiyyat), and enhancements (tahsiniyyat) Maqasid al-Sharia al-Isla….
• Part Three: Specific Objectives of Legislation (al-Maqasid al-Khassah): Focuses on the specific aims governing particular chapters of civil transactions and social affairs Maqasid al-Sharia al-Isla…+1. These include the underlying purposes of family law (such as marriage and divorce), financial transactions and contracts, labor and employment, judicial adjudication and testimony (al-qada' wa-l-shahada), charitable donations (al-tabarru'at), and penal sanctions (al-uqubat) Nazariyat al-Maqasid inda…+1.

Method and Sources

Ibn Ashur employed an inductive methodology (al-istiqra'), surveying the individual texts, rulings, and recurring patterns of Islamic law to derive overarching, certain principles of legislation Turuq al-Kashf an Maqasid…+1. He stipulated that valid legal objectives must be established, apparent, consistent, and well-defined (thubut, zuhur, indibat, ittirad) Maqasid al-Sharia al-Isla….

While drawing upon classical theorists such as al-Ghazali, al-Qarafi, and Izz al-Din ibn Abd al-Salam, Ibn Ashur engaged most extensively with Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi's foundational discussion of maqasid in al-Muwafaqat Maqasid al-Sharia al-Isla…+2. Ibn Ashur praised al-Shatibi's pioneering work while also expanding upon it, seeking to reformulate maqasid as a standalone discipline and extending its analysis into the realm of contractual and civil transactions Maqasid al-Sharia al-Isla…+1.

Publication and Reception

The book was first printed in Tunis by Dar al-Istiqama in 1366 AH (c. 1946–1947 CE) Maqasid al-Sharia al-Isla…+1. It was reissued in Tunis by the Société Tunisienne de Diffusion (al-Sharika al-Tunisiyya lil-Tawzi') in January 1978 Maqasid al-Sharia al-Isla….

Subsequent scholarly editions include an edition with an introductory study by Muhammad al-Tahir al-Misawi, published by Dar al-Nafais in Jordan (2nd ed., 1421 AH / 2001 CE), and a critical three-volume edition prepared by Muhammad al-Habib Ibn al-Khoja, published under the auspices of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in Qatar in 1425 AH (2004 CE) Qawaid al-Tarjih al-Mutaa…+2. The treatise is widely regarded as a central modern work in the revival and formulation of maqasid-based jurisprudence Ilm al-Maqasid al-Shariyy…+2.