Imam Abu Ishaq Al-Shatibi (d. 790 AH/1388 CE) used similar terminology to that of Imam al-Juwaini and Imam al-Ghazali. The Imam raised the question: what is the end objective of the Shari’a? Imam Al Shatibi had studied the works of earlier scholars, such as Imam al-Ghazali, who had also touched on this question. He discussed the issue at length and gave the following answer: “The rules of Shari’a, have been designed to produce benefits (masalih) and remove evils (mafasid) and these are certainly their ends and objectives.” And “the masalih are those which promote the preservation and fulfillment of human life, and the realization of all that human nature and rationale demands, until one is happy in every respect.”
He developed a model of Shari’a consisting of three concentric circles. The innermost circle deals with the essential laws in relation to the five basic interests (of life). The second circle covers those laws and practices that are not directly related to these essential laws, but are incorporated into Shari’a due to public convenience. The third, outermost circle consists of laws formed by finer elements of social practices such as modesty, cleanliness, and other cultural norms.
Shari’a adopts these elements because they reflect reasonability and cultural preferences within a society.
Imam al Shatibi divided Shari’a laws into rituals and worship (ibadat) and reasonable customs (adat), He further elaborates on how the adat (Habits, Behavior) determine the good and evil and how Shari’a endorses the results. He explains that benefits (maslaha) do not exist in a pure and absolute form, but are mixed with discomfort, hardship, or other painful aspects (mafsada), because the world is created from a combination of opposites, with hardship comes benefit and ease.
Imam al Shatibi also classified human needs into three categories, the inevitable (daruriyyah), the needed (hajiyyah) and the luxuries or refinements (tahsiniyyah). He elaborated on the principle that individual action cannot be allowed to injure other people’s interest and emphasized the protection and promotion of social interest as objectives of Islamic law.
Imam al-Shatibi, wrote that it is incumbent upon the Mufti (religious leader) to carry people on a way that is balanced and moderate. His basis for this were the numerous Qur’anic verses and Hadith that emphasize moderation and caution regarding one’s expression of faith.
In his famous al-Muwafaqat he states two important reasons for the ease and removal of hardship found in the Shari’ah that lead one towards a balanced religious expression:
1. To protect people from hating worship and religion because over burdening rituals will only increase people’s dislike and disdain for faith.
2. Enable people to observe the rights of self, family and society. If people are so engrossed in rituals and acts of worship that they neglect the things around them, or are forced to neglect them, then the world will fall into chaos, and a stain will appear in their hearts towards worship.
Rather it is a sunnah (act of the prophet) that the day be split into three six hour portions, the first six hours for work, the second six hours for family and the third six hours worship and what remains for the self and sleep. The muslim work day begins soon after the fajir (morning) prayer and the day is divided from this point on. The difference between this system and modern times is the balance it creates in the individual, family and ultimately society. Another difference is that the muslim week begins on Sunday and ends on Saturday, muslims however worked seven days a week, although shorter days, and generally took half a day of on Friday for congressional prayer.
In the long term people where less stressed, happy and could dedicate more time to family, themselves and their pursuits. If no time was given to the self then people had less time to grow and perfect their interests because we are commanded by Rasul Allah (saws) to perfect what ever we choose to do, this is what it means to be muhsinuun, in other words those who practice human perfection (Ihsan), as it is mentioned in the Qur’an and Islamic society supported and allowed the individual to achieve this by nurturing family and society.
What distinguished Imam al-Shatibi’s interpretation is that he developed the theories by emphasizing that the maqasid al-shari‘a and masalih could override specific legal rulings.
Imam Shatibi illustrates this by saying that nowhere in the Qur’ân is there a specific declaration to the effect that the Shari’ah has been enacted for the benefit of the people. Yet this is a definitive conclusion which is drawn from the collective reading of a variety of textual proclamations. Yet just as there is wisdom behind mentioning something specifically there is also wisdom behind not mentioning something and this is illustrated by the Hadith regarding the sahabah (companions) who used to ask the prophet about the minutest details of the religion until He (saws) advised them that the Jews did such a thing and their messenger answered their questions, but this only increased the burden that was placed on them.
When a law or advice is mentioned specifically by Allah and his messenger (saws) it becomes obligatory on the people to act upon it, so there is mercy (Rahma) in silence.
Al-Shatibi’s book became the standard textbook on maqasid al-shariah in Islamic scholarship until the twentieth century, but his proposal to present maqasid as ‘fundamentals of the shariah,’ as the title of his book suggests, was not widely accepted.
This is because of the element of Human Judgment regarding what ultimately benefits or harms man, there is no definitive answer to this question and the solutions are largely at the logic and rationale of the Judge.
Establishing a just society (focusing on the kulliyyah) are the goals (maqasid) of the Shari‘a, while the juz’iyyah (specific legal rulings) are then the means to those goals. Islamic Law “requires that we should focus on public interests and universal principles such as justice, respect and protection of a person’s beliefs, protection of life, protection of sanity and intellect, preservation of lineage (family), and protection of a person’s property or wealth, among other things to achieve this in society.
Allah says in the Quran “Alif. Lam. Mim. THIS DIVINE WRIT – let there be no doubt about it, it is