Maslaha ormaslahah ormaslahat (Arabic:مصلحة,lit. 'benefit, public interest') ormaslahamursala (Arabic:مصالح مرسلة,lit. '"sent", "transmitted", "unbonded", "open" or "unconditional" public interest'), comes from the term "Salihat" (good deeds, also linked toIslah andIstislah), is a concept inSharia (Islamic divine law) regarded as a basis of law.[1] It forms a part of extended methodologicalprinciples of Islamic jurisprudence (uṣūl al-fiqh) and denotes prohibition or permission of something, according to necessity and particular circumstances, on the basis of whether it serves the public interest of the Muslim community (ummah).[1][2] In principle,maslaha is invoked particularly for issues that are not regulated by theQur'an, thesunnah (the teachings and practices of theIslamic prophetMuhammad), orqiyas (analogy). The concept is acknowledged and employed to varying degrees depending on the jurists and schools of Islamic jurisprudence (madhhab). The application of the concept has become more important in modern times because of its increasing relevance to contemporary legal issues.[1] The opposite term of maslaha ismafsada (مفسدة, harm).[3]Islamic politics is itself predicated on maslaha, and is such changeable, as it must respond to the exigencies of time.[4][5] The term is different frombidah.[6]
According toMehmet Gormez, in a speech in 5th General Assembly organized inIstanbul by theInternational Union of Muslim Scholars, the verbal roots of words maslaha and mafsada both are mentioned together in Quran in chapteral-Baqarah's verse no 11, and also in verse 11:117 and 2:205 differently, where all refers towards equal meaining of maslaha and mafsada.[7]
And when it is said to them, "Do not cause corruption (تُفۡسِدُوۡا, tufsidu) on the earth," they say, "We are but reformers (مُصۡلِحُوۡنَ, muslihun).
— Quran 2:11
And when he goes away, he strives throughout the land to cause corruption (لِیُفۡسِدَ, yufsidu) therein and destroy crops and animals. And Allah does not like corruption (ٱلۡفَسَادَ, al-fasad).
— Quran 2:205
And your Lord would not have destroyed the cities unjustly while their people were reformers (مُصْلِحُونَ, muslihun).
— Quran 11:117
A hadith is also used to be referred in case of maslaha and mafsada where Islamic prophet Muhammad said about neither doing harm nor being harmed.[8]
Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Do not cause harm or return harm. Whoever harms others, Allah will harm him. Whoever is harsh with others, Allah will be harsh with him.”
— Source: al-Sunan al-Kubrá lil-Bayhaqī 11384, Grade: Hasan (fair) according to Al-Albani
There are several other equivalent or analogous concepts inUṣūl al-fiqh, some of each associated with respective maddhabs. The concept ofmaqasid (aim or purpose) is comparable in a sense that connotes both the ultimate objective and the goal of the application of the Sharia. The concept ofistislah is a related subject, which is employed byImamAhmad ibn Hanbal.[1] The meaning ofmaslaha is "public interest", and the meaning ofistislah is "to seek the best public interest", the Sharia's object and purpose.[9] The concept ofistihsan means equitable preference for finding solutions to the legal issues. The term is used by theHanafi school of law, and according to the understanding, the results ofqiyas can be overridden when it is considered harmful or undesirable. The term was also used by the Hanbali scholarIbn Qudamah and by theMaliki juristAverroes. TheShafi'i school does not recognize the application ofmaslaha, as it may open the door to the unrestricted use based on fallible human opinions, but it has a corresponding concept,istidlal, which is induced when necessary to avoid the strict application ofqiyas.[1]
The concept was first clearly articulated byal-Ghazali (died 1111), who argued thatmaslaha wasAllah's general purpose in revealing the divine law, and that its specific aims was preservation of five essentials of human well-being: religion, life, intellect, offspring, and property.[10] Ghazali said in his bookAl-Mustasfa that,
"The objectives and goals ormaqasid of the Islamic Shariah are known from the Quran, Sunnah and Ijma', that which safeguards the five essentials is considered as maslahah and good, and that which harms the five essentials is considered as mafsada or evil and when two evils or harms come into conflict with each other, in such a way that one of them must be dealt with, then the aim and intention of the Shariah originator is to prevent the greater harm."[11]
Although most classical-era jurists recognizedmaslaha as an important legal principle, they held different views regarding the role that it should play in Islamic law.[12][13] Some jurists viewed it as auxiliary rationale constrained by scriptural sources and analogical reasoning.[12][14] Others regarded the concept as an independent source of law, whose general principles could override specific inferences based on the letter of scripture.[12][15] The latter view was held by a minority of classical jurists, but in modern times, it came to be championed in different forms by prominent scholars who sought to adapt Islamic law to changing social conditions by drawing on the intellectual heritage of traditional jurisprudence.[12][16][17] Along with the analogous concept ofmaqasid, it has come to play an increasingly prominent role in modern time because of the need to confront legal issues that were unknown in the past.[1][12][17][13] According to Ibn al-Qayyim, the measures taken to bring people closer to goodness (salaah) and keep them away from corruption (fasad), "Even if these matters are not permitted in the Quran or the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, policy and politics of Shariah is formed by the combination of all of these."[18]
Maslaha was used in one sense by theAndalusian lawyeral-Shatibi (died 1388), who focused on the motivations behind the Islamic law. Regarding questions related to God,ibadat, humans should look to the Qur'an or the Sunnah for answers, but regarding the relationship between humans,mu'amalat, humans should look for the best public solution. Since societies change, al-Shatibi thought that themu'amalat part of the Islamic law also needed to change.[19]
Maslaha has also been used by several Muslim reformers in recent centuries.Ibn Abd al-Wahhab (died 1792) usedmaslaha in a few cases.[citation needed] The concept is more known toIslamic modernists. Among them,Muhammad Abduh is especially recognized for using the concept ofmaslaha as the basis for reconciling modern cultural values with the traditional moral code of Islamic law in the late 19th century.[citation needed] TheMuslim Brotherhood, an Islamic modernist group, also invokesmaslaha to explain their commitment to public welfare.[citation needed]
Scholars support sanctions on ignorant doctors, muftis, and fraudsters to protect people, and Malikis approve arrests and punishment under tajir, even without evidence.[18]
Some of the instances of maslahah in the Maliki doctrine:
In a hadith, the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) states that "there is no harm or harming in Islam"...Through the commitment to foster justice through their negative and positive obligations, Muslims' sphere of autonomous self-determination is limited in order for individuals to consider the interest of the public, known as maslaha mursala, when making decisions.
