Maqasid Al-Shariah

 Warm greetings to all of you!

For this week's blog post, we will be talking about the Role of Maqasid Al-Shariah in Family. What exactly is Maqasid Al-Shariah? Maqasid is an Arabic word that means intent, objectives and purpose with an urge to establish peace with others. The backbone of Maqasid’s objectives is to preserve the welfare of society in relation to the consequences of the intentions and actions of individuals or organizations. Therefore, we can declare that Maqasid is the wisdom and understanding behind governing rules. Shariah literally means “The Way”. It is a term for Islamic law and represents the way to Allah and purity. 

Before I move on further, I would like to clarify that Maqasid Al-Shariah isn’t confined to just the things that are Haram (prohibited) or damaging actions. It also helps place value on encouraging ethical conduct and acts that are for the greater good of the public. The Maqasid opens the road that shows us the way of life in Islam as a whole and not in parts.

Islam considers family as the cornerstone of society. We have to keep in mind that regardless of every ruling that we are dealing with, the stability of our family is the main goal. For instance, the responsibility of the children is the right of the parents and vice versa. Building a strong structure for a family is a responsibility for the men and women on this earth, in order for us to establish a proper human society. This kind of responsibility can’t be done alone, it requires teamwork. That is why there is no hierarchy in this regard in the Quran. 

When it comes to marriage, Allah SWT mentions in the Quran (Surah Ar-Rum ayah 21):

“And one of His signs is that He created for you spouses from among yourselves so that you may find comfort in them. And He has placed between you compassion and mercy. Surely in this are signs for people who reflect.”

This ayah tells us that the objectives of having marital relations is to provide that tranquility, love and mercy among the Husband and Wife. This makes it clear through this ayah that if this is the objective, it means that every other objective that needs to be fulfilled is somewhat related to this objective. It's not about authority as much as it is about teamwork between men and women, husband and wife or children and parents. In the medieval times, the man was financially responsible for his family and anything else wouldn’t have been acceptable. However in our modern society, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the man that is financially responsible for the house. So how is it explained in this case? I believe that understanding the ultimate objectives of the relationship and understanding how much the Quran emphasized the strength and harmony between men and women. This helps us to understand the importance of mutual respect between husband and wife.

The main goal for us is how to establish a harmonious environment for all members of the family and when we understand the importance of this, every other ruling mentioned in the Quran can be very easily implemented in our lives. 

With that being said, I would like to end my blog with a verse from Surah Al-Baqarah,

“Spend in the cause of Allah and do not let your own hands throw you into destruction by withholding. And do good, for Allah certainly loves the good-doers.”

(Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:195)