Elements of Maslahah and Mafsadah in Islamic Legislation on The Usage of Electronic Cigarettes and Shisha in Malaysia

Abstract

The usage of electronic cigarettes and shisha has spread in Malaysian society, especially among young people nowadays. It seems to be unstoppable until its usage is considered as a pleasure and pride for their lives. The importance of this topic is that Islam has set important guidelines to be followed according to Shariah (rule of life practices) that need to be adhered. It happened probably due to the clash between maslahah and mafsadah regarding this issue, probably when there are possibilities of violation of ethics and legislations that would go across the line. This study applies the methodology of documents analysis as well as library search that will assess the extent to which the practice of post-mortem is in accordance with the requirements of maqasid which takes into account the concepts of maslahah and mafsadah. In order to obtain the necessary data, this study further applied two methods, namely identifying the views of scholars through the books they wrote in determining the law and also by analyzing according to inductive, deductive and comparative methods. Subsequently, the major findings of this study shows that the practice of using electronic cigarettes and shisha in Malaysia have to be stopped by applying a holistic approach based on the assessment of Islamic ethics and laws under the concept of maslahah-mafsadah (benefit-risk). Therefore, three main steps based on the maslahah-mafsadah element approach are suggested: first; evidence-based approach, second; impact-based approach and, third; priority approach. The analysis further concludes that the ban on the usage of electronic cigarettes and shisha can be categorized as an initial preventive measure for society, although it is seen to have an impact on the business income of some electronic cigarette and shisha operators. However, in future, the aim to ban electronic cigarettes and shisha should be in view, as is to safeguard and strengthening the welfare of the community and rejecting all evils whether related to religion, life, reason, dignity and property of the Muslim community at large.