THE INTERPLAY OF IJTIHĀD AND MAQĀSID AL-SHARĪ‘AH IN PRE-MODERN LEGAL THOUGHT: EXAMINING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF AL-GHAZALI AND AL-SHATIBI

Abstract

The debate of ijtihād - its meanings, theorization and application, is one of the most noticeable debates in the modern Muslim intellectual space. In the contested backdrop of ‘closure of the gates of ijtihād’, the process of reproduction of ShÉrÊah‘knowledge, civilizational renewal and forming a critical engagement with the socio-intellectual context of contemporary times through ijtihÉd gained coinage among different strata of Muslim scholarship, developing intra-Muslim conversations between traditionalists, modernists and progressives. In this debate, maqāsid al-Sharī‘ah as a concept, theory and philosophy has been repeatedly invoked by all three points of views, explaining it from their distinct positions. In this context, this paper attempts to offer an analysis of the pre-modern dialogue between ijtihād and maqāsid al-Sharī‘ah, revisions of the traditionally more predominant method of extension of law, qiyās, in context of Shāfi’īte four-source theory and employment of relatively more utilitarian tool, maslahah. Hence, the paper investigates the concepts of munāsabah and tahqiq al-manāt vis-à-vis maqasid alShari’ah, employed by two most prominent advocates of maqāsid thought in pre-modern scholarship, al-Ghazali (d. 1111 C.E) and al-Shatibi (d. 1388 C.E). Finally, the study attempts to locate the common ground between traditional theory of ijtihād and maqāsid al-Sharī‘ah, to explain the possibility of maqāsid based ijtihād model.