The philosophy of Maqasid al-Shariah and its application in the built environment

This paper deciphers the application of the philosophy of the Maqasid al-shari’ah (Objectives of Islamic Law) in the built environment. Being seen as a result of human minds and acts towards the environment for the purpose of human needs, wants and values, the built environment is very much related to the Islamic theory of man as vicegerent (khalifah) on earth. Here lies the interconnectedness between the built environment and the Maqasid al-shari’ah. In this regard, the terms Islam and Maqasid al-shari’ah play the same role in the sense that they set a way of life for mankind with the principles of the Qur’an and Sunnah. Human reactions in their daily life basically react upon these elements. Definitely, human wellbeing or maslahah (public interests) for mankind is the ultimate aim of the shari’ah. Thus this paper attempts to assimilate the philosophy of the Maqasid al-shari’ah with the built environment’s profession towards the realization of their role as khalifah. Ultimately, this will pave for better human interaction with the environment resulting in utmost quality of the built environment for human life. Keywords: Built environment, Maqasid al-shariah, and human bein

The relationship between the purposes of the law and legal reasoning

It is argued that, since qiyas presents a mechanism for the derivation of rulings from the textual sources of the law, in the light of its purposes, the existence of a relation between qiyas and the purposes of the law can be visualized. For, it is in the light of the consideration of the purposes that the rational of a given text is extended to the cases that do not come under its purview. This article therefore, attempts to highlight and analyze the relation between the purposes of the law and qiyas. It also investigates the literal and technical meanings of qiyas and purposes of the law and evaluates their relation in the light of latter providing justification for the former in respect of extension and restriction of legal rulings. The authors, using descriptive and analytical approach, conclude that the purposes of the law by virtue of their potential role in qiyas (legal reasoning) equip the jurist with the ability and insight in how to apply the rulings strictly and when to mitigate them, a fact underscoring the existence of a strong relation between the two

The application of Maqasid al-Shari’ah into cartilage tissue engineering

Tissue engineering approaches, being part of regenerative medicine have been applied in treating the articular cartilage diseases worldwide. It offers benefit to the humankind by improving healthcare economics, better treatment and quality of life among the osteoarthritic patients. It is felt that this promising field requires Islamic essences to be addressed in its concepts and practices. The paper begins with the discussion on the potential of cartilage tissue engineering in overcoming the harms that may impact the healthcare stakeholders (patients, providers, medical professionals, researchers and government). This will be followed by deliberations based on the five higher objectives of Islamic Law (Maqasid al-Shariah), namely, safeguarding of faith, soul, wealth, mind, and offspring. The deliberations illustrate a general idea of cartilage tissue engineering concept and practices in relation to what Islam champions. Islamic Law is comprehensive and incorporates the moral propositions to the medical discipline. It is presented that every legal ruling in Islam has a function to achieve the benefit to human beings or to protect against harm. The application of Maqasid al-Shariah can serve as a practical framework in healthcare setting especially cartilage tissue engineering. It is hoped that this paper will open further discourses to facilitate for a decree by the relevant authority pertaining to the experimentation and practice of tissue engineering, particularly cartilage tissue engineering

Maqasid al-Shari’ah: a pathway for protecting children’s right to health

Children all over the world have legal instruments for their protection. These rights are also accorded them under the Shari’ah. The protection of children covers all aspects of children’s life such as education, freedom of movement and right to health. Despite the existence of provisions under Shari’ah relating to the protection of children’s health, yet children are suffering from various diseases such as malaria, diarrhea and other communicable diseases. It has been proven that over 800,000 children have been suffering for health problem as a result of inadequate health facilities or medical expert as well as malnutrition. This suffering is due to the nonchalant attitude of some parents or government towards the application of Shari’ah on one hand, and ignorance of the objectives of Shari’ah known as Maqasid-al Shari’ah in relation to health of children on the other hand. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the right of children to health under Maqasid al-Shari’ah such as darurriyat, hajiyyat and tahsiniyyat. Qualitative method is adopted and in doing so, analysis of both primary and secondary materials is be used. The primary data sources include the Quran and Hadith. The secondary sources include journals, judicial authorities, unpublished dissertations/theses, articles from newspapers and magazines while data will also be obtained through online data bases. Some of the instruments used include tools from other disciplines as well. The study concludes that full implementation of children’s right to health under Shari’ah will promote the health of children and assist them to develop mentally and physically

Islamic banking and income inequality: the role of corporate social responsibility

The objective of this study is to analyse whether engaging more actively in corporate social responsibility (CSR) enhances the effectiveness of Islamic banks in narrowing income inequality in the selected Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries. Both fixed-effect and random-effect models representing static model as well as generalized method of moments approach of dynamic model are employed to estimate the sample of 24 OIC countries for the period from 2006 to 2013. The results suggest that Islamic banking has potential to reduce income inequality via Islamic financing and CSR further helps to reduce income inequality. In addition, the findings suggest that Islamic financial institutions able to reduce income inequality further if they actively engage in CSR. However, small size of CSR activities is unlikely to be effective in reducing income inequality

The nature of Public Interest in Muslim and Non-Muslim writers

Leading a comfortable life on this planet with few problems and worries is one of the aims and objective of human since the dawn of history. Defining and then achieving a prosperous and comfortable life has been the subject of intense discussion among philosophers and religious scholars since the dawn of history. In order to investigate whether the contemporary economic system better serves the wellbeing of the general population (public interest), then it is very important to know that what the public interest itself actually means? To accomplish this task, we started this essay with an examination of the idea of public interest from both Muslims and non-Muslims writers. After the emergence of enlightenment self-interest got prominence due to which public interest among non-Muslims writers is considered as a rule or concept serving to present something as suitable for long term approval or acceptance according to changing circumstances. In contrast Muslim writers think that public interest refers to the fulfilment of the objective of the Sharia which lies in safeguarding their faith (Din/Religion), their human self (Nafs), their intellect (Aql), their posterity (Nasl) and their wealth (Maal). There will be violence and corruption without these five basics purposes of Sharia

The nature of Public Interest in Muslim and Non-Muslim writers

Leading a comfortable life on this planet with few problems and worries is one of the aims and objective of human since the dawn of history. Defining and then achieving a prosperous and comfortable life has been the subject of intense discussion among philosophers and religious scholars since the dawn of history. In order to investigate whether the contemporary economic system better serves the wellbeing of the general population (public interest), then it is very important to know that what the public interest itself actually means? To accomplish this task, we started this essay with an examination of the idea of public interest from both Muslims and non-Muslims writers. After the emergence of enlightenment self-interest got prominence due to which public interest among non-Muslims writers is considered as a rule or concept serving to present something as suitable for long term approval or acceptance according to changing circumstances. In contrast Muslim writers think that public interest refers to the fulfilment of the objective of the Sharia which lies in safeguarding their faith (Din/Religion), their human self (Nafs), their intellect (Aql), their posterity (Nasl) and their wealth (Maal). There will be violence and corruption without these five basics purposes of Sharia

A Systematic Review of Biomedical and Psychosocial Factors for Suicide: An Islamic Perspective

Suicide is a complex public health problem of global dimension with un-even distribution rates. The objectives of this review is to describe the concept of suicide, its causes and preventive measures in the light of the glorious Qur’an and ahadith/sunnah as the principal sources of Maqasid Al-Shari’ah in Islam. Descriptive study design was used to review the data collected from published articles, books, news and reports. The findings show that suicide may be caused by social-economic factors; catalysed by psychological problems, mental illnesses, physical illnesses, genetics and medication. Qur’an, 4:29 has strictly forbidden people to kill themselves, while various ahadith have made it clear that whoever kills himself with something, Allah (Subhaanahu wata’alah) will punish him with whatever he has killed himself with in the Hell-fire. The guidelines to prevent suicide include strengthening personal relationships, reciting and comprehending the glorious Qur’an, supplication, ruqya, patience and reliance to Allah (S.W.T)

The Association between Physical Activity Status and Mental Wellbeing among Overweight and Obese Female Students

Physical activity (PA) is important in fighting obesity, and it may also improve one’s mental wellbeing. Nonetheless, the association between PA and mental wellbeing among female university students with elevated body mass index (BMI) is still fragmented. Hence, this study aims to determine the association between PA status and mental wellbeing among overweight and obese female students in a university located in the East region of Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 102 overweight and obese female students. An online survey of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Acreda Scale (WEMWBS-ACREDA) was distributed using convenience sampling and analysed. The results show that 43.2% of the participants have a high and 18.6% have a low PA level. Meanwhile, the finding revealed that the majority of the participants have a moderate state of mental wellbeing (59.8%). Additionally, a significant moderate positive association between PA status and mental wellbeing among the overweight and obese female students was identified (r=0.341, p<0.01). This study proposed that PA may influence the mental wellbeing of female university students with elevated BMI. Therefore, incorporating more physical related activities in their learning objectives may promote a better quality of life during their campus life

Incident of Sihir Upon Prophet Muhammad sallahu álaihi wassalam: Analyses of Narrations, Mental Capacity, and Its Implication on Revelation.

ntroduction: The incident of sihir inflicted upon prophet Muhammad sallahu álaihi wassalam is well-documented in traditions and historical narrations. Most scholars accept the incident indeed occurred and affected the mental capacity of the prophet in a limited manner. Anti-Islamic proponents use this as means to cast doubt on revelation. Current study sought to show the context of the mental disturbance and the implication upon revelation based on various narrations. Methods: The incident of sihir was extracted from various classical hadeeth sources using Maktabah Shamela. Relevant scholarly opinions were selected and scrutinized for the incident. Results: The incident was authenthic and reported in the major books of hadith especially Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim. Aisyah, Zaid bin Arqam and Ibnu Abbas were the companions who reported this incident. The context of the narration does not show satanic possession of the prophet neither in anyway jeopardize revelation. The mental capacity minimally affected in which he was only imagining himself together with his wife. The period of sihir is well documented with no revelation was revealed during the incident. The prophet himself were very aware on the post-event and even did not take action on the person. Conclusion: Therefore, it can be deduced the incident did not doubt the integrity and the credibility of prophet sallahu álaihi wassalam in transmitting revelation