Towards Realization of The Higher Intents of Islamic Law

This book takes an important step “towards the realization of the higher intents of the Islamic law”. First, it opens the door towards the integration of contemporary values and worldview into the into the maqasid terminology. This is carried out via the sections on “the role of reason and experience in identifying maqasid”. Secondly, the book gives answers to the complex theoretical questions on the role of maqasid in ijtihad, juristic theorization (usul), and the islamization of the human, social, and physical sciences. Last, but not least, the book highlights the role and the necessity of a ‘maqasid-informed’ mindset on the intellectual and communal levels, and takes a pioneering futuristic look into this very important branch of Islamic knowledge.

 (Higher Intents of the Islamic Law) is the most promising tool for the ‘contemporization’ of Islamic law and its philosophical foundations. It is also – as this book reveals – a promising tool for the realization of Islamic values and principles in the realms of judiciary, society, and even science.

Dr. Gamal Eldin Attia is a leading scholar in Islamic law, especially its fundamentals (usul) and intents (maqsid). The original (Arabic) version of this book has enjoyed wide success and acceptance in the juridical and intellectual circles of the Islamic world.

 Maqasid Al-Shariah as Philosophy of Islamic Law: A Systems Approach

 In this pathbreaking study, Jasser Auda presents a systems approach to the philosophy and juridical theory of Islamic law based on its purposes, intents, and higher objectives (maqasid). For Islamic rulings to fulfil their original purposes of justice, freedom, rights, common good, and tolerance in today’s context, Auda presents maqasid as the heart and the very philosophy of Islamic law. He also introduces a novel method for analysis and critique, one that utilises relevant features from systems theory, such as, wholeness, multidimensionality, openness, and especially, purposefulness of systems. This book will benefit all those interested in the relationship between Islam and a wide variety of subjects, such as philosophy of law, morality, human rights, interfaith commonality, civil society, integration, development, feminism, modernism, postmodernism, systems theory, and culture.

 Dr. Jasser Auda is the Founding Director of Al-Maqasid Research Centre in the Philosophy of Islamic Law, a project of Al-Furqan Foundation,London, UK. He has a multi-disciplinary academicbackground and has written two Ph.D. theses onIslamic Philosophy of Law and Systems Analysisand Design, in the University of Wales, UK, and the University of Waterloo, Canada, respectively. Dr. Auda is a Visiting Lecturer to a number of academic institutes in Canada, UK, Egypt, and India.