Islamic law reform and maqīṣid al-sharī‘a in the thought of Mohammad Hashim Kamali

Abstract

Mohammad Hashim Kamali is one of the leading contemporary scholars writing on the concept of maqaāṣid al-shariā‘a as well as Muslim reformist thought. The purpose of this chapter is to closely examine his numerous writings on maqaāṣid al-sharī‘a with particular focus on how he employs this concept for the purpose of reforming Islamic law. In the first section of this chapter, I describe the nature of Islamic reform in Kamali’s thought as encapsulated in the two terms he frequently employs: Tajdīd haḍari (civilizational renewal) and siyasa al-shariāa (maqaāṣid al-sharī‘a-ompliant method of governance). In the second section, I discuss how Kamali’s understanding of the nature and the delineating features of the Qurān, the Sunna, and the relationship between revelation and reason creates space for the reform of Islamic law. In the third section of this chapter, I focus on some specific methodological considerations Kamali discusses in rethinking existing premodern uṣūl al-fiqh mechanisms for reform purposes by linking them to the concept of maqaāṣid. These include maṣlaḥa, istiḥsan, ijtihad, ijmā, qawā‘id (legal maxims), ḥikma, ‘illa, and asbab al-nuzul. In the fourth section, I discuss the main arguments outlined by Kamali for the need for and the importance of maqāid-oriented Islamic law reform. I also describe his original contributions to the topic of the nature and the salient features of maqāṣid and their identification. Finally, I outline his proposal on the new methodology of maqaāṣid and his views on the future tasks and challenges for maqāṣid-oriented uṣūl.