The Engineering of Islamic Legal Opinion (IJTIHAD) on the Maqasid Al-Shari‘Ah Development in the Assessment of Islamic Financial Products

Abstract

The fundamental objectives of the Shari‘ah or Maqasid al-Shari‘ah are to ensure the well-being and welfare of mankind (maslahah; Pl. masalih), both in this world and the hereafter. Maqasid are the key to better understand the Shari‘ah in its true perspective. Significantly, Maqasid alShari‘ah can be seen as a comprehensive legal framework to unify the divergence of Islamic Islamic legal opinion (ijtihad) among the Muslim juristconsults (Usuliyyun) of different schools of law. Hence, in order to obtain the clarity and visibility on the objectives of Shari‘ah (Maqasid al-Shari‘ah), this journal attempts to analyse the engineering of the theory of Maqasid-cumMasalih (the objectives of Shari’ah for the public interests) as guidelines to be used in the assessment and evaluation of Islamic financial products and services, so that those developed products are in conformity with the Maqasid al-Shari‘ah.