Description
Book SynopsisScholars, thinkers, and activists around the world are paying increasing attention to a legal reform method that promises to revolutionize the way people think about Islamic law. Known as The Objectives of the Sharia (maqa?id al-sharia), the theory offers a way to derive and apply new Islamic laws using an ancient methodology. The theory identifies core objectives that underlie Islamic law, and then looks at inherited Islamic laws to see whether they meet those objectives. According to the maqa?id theory, historical Islamic laws that meet their objectives should be retained, and those that do notno matter how entrenched in practice or embedded in textsshould be discarded or reformed.Recently, several scholars have questioned the maqa?id theory, arguing that it is designed not to reform laws, but to support existing power structures. They warn that adopting the maqa?id wholesale would set the reform project back, ensuring that inherited Islamic laws are never fully reformed to agree wit
Trade ReviewThe Objectives of Islamic Law is an excellent collection of essays on the increasingly popular subject of maqasid al-shari’ah, including several that are written by world-renowned experts in the field. With its multi-perspectival and fresh treatments of many maqasid-related themes, this book is highly recommended reading, especially for those interested in deepening their understanding of an alternative view—the maqasid approach—of the meaning, place, and role of the Sharia in contemporary Islam that now has growing appeal among its intellectual circles. -- Osman Bakar, Universiti Brunei Darussalam
The Objectives of Islamic Law is a much welcomed and indispensable source for the academic study of maqāṣid al-sharī‘a. -- Lena Larsen, University of Oslo
This is an excellent volume on the important subject of maqasid al-shari'ah, featuring contributions from leading experts on the subject. This volume certainly makes a significant contribution to the discourse on the evolution of Islamic law and I recommend it highly. -- Mashood Baderin, Professor of Laws, SOAS, University of London
Table of ContentsEditor’s Introduction Part I: Promises 1. Goals and Purposes Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah: Methodological Perspectives Mohammad Hashim Kamali 2. Realising Maqāṣid in the Sharīʿah Jasser Auda 3. Freedom of Religion in the Age of Multi-Religious Societies with Special Reference to Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah Muhammad Khalid Masud 4. The Inviolability of Human Dignity: A Maqāṣidī Perspective Idris Nassery 5. Qur’ān, Sunnah, Maqāṣid and the Religious Other: The Ideas of Muḥammad Shaḥrūr Adis Duderija 6. Ibn ʿĀshūr’s Interpretation of the Purposes of the Law (Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah): An Islamic Modernist Approach to Legal Change Felicitas Opwis 7. Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah in Islamic Contracts: A Study of Current Practices of Islamic Finance in Light of Islamic Legal Maxims Younes Soualhi Part II: Challenges 8. Reason and Revelation: A Meaningful Contribution to Contemporary Ethical Debates in a Secular Context Muna Tatari 9. The Hermeneutical Approach of Shāṭibī on the Basis of the Maqāṣid Definition of Reason: Fundamental Issues of a Modern Reinterpretation Mohammed Nekroumi 10. The Challenge Facing Islamic Banking and Finance: Has It Moved Away From Its Core Objectives, With Special Reference to Maqāṣid? Habib Ahmed 11. The Relationship between Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah and Uṣūl al-Fiqh Cefli Ademi 12. Which comes first, the Maqāṣid, or the Sharī‘ah? Rumee Ahmed 13. How Objective are the Objectives (Maqāṣid)? Examining Evolving Notions of the Sharī‘ah through the Lens of Lineage (Nasl) Ayesha S. Chaudhry 14. Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah as a Legitimization for the Muslim Minorities Law Mouez Khalfaoui Epilogue: Anver Emon
