maqasid

Respected scholars, As-Salamu `Alaykum.Some scholars have argued that the verses of the Qur’an revealed at Makkah embody the maqasid (objectives) of the Shari’ah. In contrast, the more substantive laws revealed at Madinah were local applications of the maqasid. In other words, they were a combination of the maqasid and the pre-Islamic social norms of the society of Madinah. Consequently, when faced with a clash between the maqasid and a literalist reading of a verse revealed at Madinah, a mujtahid (scholar who applies ijtihad or personal reasoning) could use istihsan (juristic preference) to deduce a ruling which is in harmony with the maqasid. Such a process could be used to combine Western social norms with the maqasid of the Shari’ah to create a fiqh which is appropriate for Muslim minorities (fiqh aqilliyyat). Would the noble scholar please comment? Jazakum Allahu Khayran.