THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF CLASSICAL ‎SCHOLARS TO THE THEORY OF MAQĀṢID AL-SHARĪ‘AH

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Several classical scholars who contributed to developing the theory of the maqāṣid al-sharīʿah are overlooked in the contemporary studies of maqāṣid. Most ‎contemporary studies focused on al-Juwaynī, al-Ghazālī and al-Shāṭibī. However, studying a theory requires investigating all the classical works that pioneered the theory without discrimination. This could provide new insights for the study of maqāṣid. This paper addresses this oversight by reviewing the works of early maqāṣid scholars, how much attention contemporary studies have paid to those scholars’ contribution, and suggests directions for future research.
 
 Methodology: This study used the qualitative content analysis technique to identify the scholars who contributed to the theory of maqāṣid al-sharīʿah via a thorough reading of the history of the maqāṣid al-sharīʿah as found in contemporary literature. To trace the available studies conducted on the classical scholars and gaps in the literature, the researchers examined the catalogues, indexes, and lists collected. This study encompassed scholars who lived between the 2nd and 13th centuries when the philosophy of the maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah evolved. 
 
 Findings: The theorisation of maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah was initiated by al-ʿĀmirī‎, formalised by al-Juwaynī followed by al-Ghazālī and crystallised by al-Shāṭibī‎. Moreover, several other scholars contributed to the development of the theory even though they did not document their works as books. Nonetheless, most contemporary studies are confined to studying the works of the famous three scholars mentioned earlier. 
 
 Contributions: It is expected that the research gap identified in this paper pertaining to studying the works of classical maqāṣid scholars may ‎serve as a springboard for future studies in this field. Most importantly, investigating the works of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, al-Rāghib al-Aṣfahānī, Abū Zayd al-Balakhī, Abū Bakr al-Jaṣṣāṣ, Abul Ḥasan‎ Al-ʿĀmirī‎, al-Qāḍī ʿAbdul Jabbār al-Hamadhānī, Abū ‘Abdullāh Muḥammad ʿAbdur Raḥmān al-Bukhārī, Ibn Khaldūn‎ and al-Shawkānī may offer fresh perspectives on the understanding of maqāṣid al-sharīʿah. 
 
 Keywords: Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah, classical scholars, contemporary studies, Islamic jurisprudence, research gap.
 
 Cite as: Monawer, A. T. M., Rahman, N. N. A., & Abdullah, M. F. (2023). The contributions of classical ‎scholars to the theory of maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 8(2), 242-265. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol8iss2pp242-265