Triangulating Uṣūl Al-Fiqh, Al-Qawā’id Al-Fiqhiyyah, and Maqāṣid Al-Sharī’ah: Implications for Contemporary Ijtihād and Iftā’
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11113/umran2026.13n2.875Keywords:
l-Qawā’id Al-Fiqhiyyah, Islamic Jurisprudence, Maqāṣid Al-Sharī‘ah, Uṣūl Al-FiqhAbstract
This study examines the intersection of Uṣūl al-Fiqh (principles of Islamic jurisprudence), al-Qawāʿid al-Fiqhiyyah (juridical maxims), and Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah (higher objectives of the law) through an integrated analytical approach, with particular attention to their implications for contemporary ijtihād (independent juristic reasoning) and iftā’ (issuance of legal opinions). The problem addressed is the absence of a comprehensive framework that effectively harmonises these foundational disciplines to ensure both textual fidelity and contextual relevance in juristic reasoning and fatwā issuance. The primary objective is to develop a cohesive model that triangulates these methodologies of Islamic legal theory, thereby providing a unified analytical tool for scholars, juristic councils, and practitioners. Adopting a qualitative methodology, the study undertakes a comparative analysis of classical and contemporary jurisprudential texts, incorporating scholarly works, case studies, and theoretical frameworks to identify commonalities and divergences. By applying an integrative approach, it synthesises perspectives and proposes a model that strengthens juristic consistency, enhances methodological discipline, and aligns legal rulings with the overarching objectives of the Sharīʿah. The findings indicate that while Uṣūl, Qawāʿid, and Maqāṣid individually provide critical perspectives, their integration yields a more coherent and ethically responsive framework for addressing complex legal scenarios. The study, therefore, recommends the formal adoption of this triangulated model by fatwā bodies to ensure coherence, its integration into higher Islamic education to bridge theory and praxis, and its extension to emerging domains, including biotechnology, digital finance, and environmental governance. It further advocates interdisciplinary collaboration and policy application to guarantee rulings that are sharʿī-compliant, socially viable, and reflective of the Qurʾānic principle of wasaṭiyyah (moderation), thereby safeguarding Islamic law against both rigid literalism and unchecked liberalism.
References
Al-Ghazālī, A. H. (1993). Al-Mustaṣfā min ʿilm al-uṣūl. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah.
Al-Juwaynī, A. M. (1997). Al-Burhān fī uṣūl al-fiqh. Cairo: Al-Maṭbaʿah al-Amīriyyah.
Al-Nawawī, Y. (2000). Al-Majmūʿ sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab. Jeddah: Maktabat al-Irshād.
Al-Maqrīzī, T. al-D. (n.d.). [Works on governance and jurisprudence]. Cairo: Dār al-Kutub al-Miṣriyyah.
Alqaradaghi, A. (2019). al-Ijtihād al-maqāṣidī: Ruʾyah tajdīdiyyah [Maqāṣid-based ijtihād: A reformist vision]. Dār al-Kalimah.
Al-Qarāfī, A. (2001). Al-Furūq. Beirut: ʿĀlam al-Kutub.
Al- Qaradawi, Y. (1997). Fiqh al-awlawiyyāt: A new vision for Muslim priorities. Cairo: Dār al-Shurūq.
Al-Qaraḍāwī, Y. (1999). Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah al-Mutaʿallaqah bi al-Māl. Dār al-Shurūq.
Al-Qaraḍāwī, Y. (2019a). Kayfa nataʿāmal maʿa al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm [How to deal with the Glorious Qurʾān]. Maktabat Wahbah.
Al-Qarāḍāwī, Y. (2019b). The lawful and the prohibited in Islam (K. el-Helbawy, M. Moinuddin Siddiqui, & S. Shukri, Trans.). American Trust Publications. (Original work published 1960)
Al-Shāṭibī, I. (1997). Al-Muwāfaqāt fī uṣūl al-sharīʿah. Cairo: Dār Ibn ʿAffān.
Al-Shāṭibī, I. (2004). Al-Muwāfaqāt fī uṣūl al-sharīʿah. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah.
Al-Shāfiʿī, M. I. (n.d.). Al-Risālah. Cairo: Al-Maṭbaʿah al-Salafiyyah.
Al-Suyūṭī, J. (2003). Al-Ashbāh wa al-naẓāʾir. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah.
Al-Zarkashī, B. (n.d.). Al-Baḥr al-muḥīṭ fī uṣūl al-fiqh. Cairo: Maṭbaʿat al-Saʿādah.
Al-Zuḥaylī, W. (2015). Al-Qawāʿid al-fiqhiyyah wa taṭbīqātuhā fī al-madhāhib al-arbaʿah. Damascus: Dār al-Fikr.
Al-Zuḥaylī, W. (2007). Al-fiqh al-Islāmī wa adillatuhu. Dār al-Fikr.
Auda, J. (2008). Maqasid al-Shariah as philosophy of Islamic law: A systems approach. London: The International Institute of Islamic Thought.
Auda, J. (2018). A critique of the theory of abrogation. International Institute of Islamic Thought.
Auda, J. (2021). Re-envisioning Islamic jurisprudence: Maqasid-based ethical frameworks in contemporary thought. International Institute of Islamic Thought.
Bin Bayyah, A. (2018). Fiqh al-aqalliyyāt al-muslima: ʿĪsh al-muslimīn fī ghayr mujtamaʿātihim [Jurisprudence of Muslim minorities: The life of Muslims in non-Muslim societies]. Dār al-Minhāj.
Choudhury, M. A. (2015). Islamic economics and finance: An epistemological inquiry. Emerald Group Publishing.
Dusuki, A. W., & Bouheraoua, S. (2019). Maqasid al-Shari’ah, maslahah, and corporate social responsibility. International Shari’ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA).
El-Awa, S. (1994). On the political system of the Islamic state. Herndon, VA: The International Institute of Islamic Thought.
El-Mesawi, M. E. T. (2020). Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah as philosophy of Islamic law: A systems approach. International Institute of Islamic Thought.
Ghaly, M. (2020). Islamic ethics and the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Islamic Ethics, 4(Special Issue), 5–18. https://doi.org/10.1163/24685542-12340065
Hallaq, W. B. (2009). Sharīʿa: Theory, practice, transformations. Cambridge University Press.
Ibn ʿĀbidīn, M. A. (2003). Radd al-Muḥtār ʿalā al-Durr al-Mukhtār: Sharḥ Tanwīr al-Abṣār [The response of the perplexed on “The chosen pearl”: Commentary on Tanwīr al-Abṣār]. Dār al-Fikr.
Ibn al-Qayyim, M. (1991). Iʿlām al-muwaqqiʿīn ʿan rabb al-ʿālamīn. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah.
Ibn ʿĀshūr, M. T. (2013). Treatise on Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah (M. El-Tahir El-Mesawi, Trans.). International Institute of Islamic Thought. (Original work published 2006).
Ibn Mājah, M. Y. (n.d.). Sunan Ibn Mājah. Dār al-Fikr.
Ibn Nujaym, Z. (1999). Al-Ashbāh wa al-naẓāʾir. Cairo: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿArabiyyah.
Ibn Qudāmah, A. (2001). Al-Mughnī. Riyadh: Dār ʿĀlam al-Kutub.
Ibn Taymiyyah, T. (1995). Majmūʿ fatāwā Ibn Taymiyyah. Riyadh: Dār al-Wafāʾ.
Ibn Taymiyyah, T. (n.d.). Darʾ taʿāruḍ al-ʿaql wa al-naql. Riyadh: Jāmiʿat al-Imām Muḥammad ibn Saʿūd al-Islāmiyyah.
International Islamic Fiqh Academy. (1986). Resolutions of the Islamic Fiqh Academy (Third Session). Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
International Islamic Fiqh Academy. (1993). Resolutions and recommendations of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy. Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
International Islamic Fiqh Academy. (1998). Proceedings of the symposium on genetic engineering and human reproduction. Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
International Islamic Fiqh Academy. (2003). Resolution No. 127 (14/15): DNA and its evidentiary status in Islamic law. Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
International Islamic Fiqh Academy. (2009). Resolution on polio vaccination and public health obligations. Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
International Islamic Fiqh Academy. (2013). Resolution on vaccination and public health policy. Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Kamali, M. H. (1991). Principles of Islamic jurisprudence. Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society.
Kamali, M. H. (2008). Shari’ah law: An introduction. Oneworld Publications.
Kamali, M. H. (2021). Principles of Islamic jurisprudence (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society.
Laldin, M. A., & Furqani, H. (2022). Islamic finance and maqasid al-Shariah: Theoretical foundations and contemporary applications. ISRA Research Management Centre.
Mālik ibn Anas. (n.d.). Al-Muwaṭṭaʾ. Dār إحياء التراث العربي.
Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj. (n.d.). Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. Dār al-Fikr.
Nyazee, I. A. K. (2016). Islamic jurisprudence. Islamabad: Advanced Legal Studies Institute.
Ramadan, T. (2009). Radical reform: Islamic ethics and liberation. Oxford University Press.
Saeed, A. (2006). Interpreting the Qur’an: Towards a contemporary approach. Routledge.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Oyekolade Sodiq OYESANYA, Sanusi Lafiagi HARUNA, Qowiyy Olalekan BADMUS
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
