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The Higher Objectives of Sharia (Maqasid) are a Shield Protecting Islamic Banking
Author : Dr. Safwan Odaybat
Date Added : 02-10-2024

Considering the Higher Objectives of Sharia (Maqasid) as a Safeguard for Islamic Banking

 

All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

Islamic banking is an integral part of the contemporary Islamic economic system, encompassing everything related to the transactions of Islamic banks and financial institutions, including financing, investment, and services.

The various Islamic financial institutions represent an effort to institutionalize a significant part of the Islamic financial system and codify it into rulings and fatwas that reflect the practical reality connecting these institutions with others or with individuals in society through financing and investment mechanisms, while also considering the social and ethical aspects related to their nature of work.

The emergence of these Islamic financial institutions is associated with noble goals, foremost among them being the establishment of an Islamic alternative to the prevailing traditional (usurious) system.

The experience of Islamic banking is a human endeavor, as it is an attempt to apply financing, investment, and service operations from an Islamic perspective. This makes it susceptible to criticism and evaluation and serves as a field for innovation and change. Annual conferences and periodic seminars are held to study this situation, identify weaknesses and strengths, improve standards, and initiate change.

It goes without saying that directing criticism toward the application or describing it as weak does not mean criticizing or undermining the general principles in Islamic Law of the case under consideration. The application of principles and general rules is a matter of conjecture, a human effort that may contain errors and correctness and varies from one jurist to another depending on differing understandings. However, the principles and general rules themselves are definitive matters that are unanimously agreed upon.

These principles and general rules, which we consider the basis for applying operations and services in Islamic banking, relate to the objectives of Sharia, the prohibition of evasive legal devices, and the consideration of the outcomes of rulings.

Considering the objectives of Sharia serves as a protective barrier for Islamic banking against the pitfalls of fatwas, the errors of justification, the exaggeration in religious matters, and the transformation of jurisprudence from innovative and renewal-oriented to merely patching up issues.

Moreover, consideration of the objectives of Sharia contributes to regulating evidence, meaning it monitors the processes of interpretation, inference, analogy, and Ijtihad through its various channels. [Objectives of Sharia and Economic and Financial Transactions, Dr. Abdul Latif Al-Sabbagh, presented at the Wednesday Dialogue at the Islamic Economics Research Center on 16-2-1420 AH, p. 13].

If we aim to correct the trajectory of Islamic banking, enhance its management, and justify its existence as a true alternative to usurious institutions that satisfy individuals' needs and contribute to the preservation of the nation's system and strength, this cannot be achieved through mere reactionary measures that monitor usurious banking and attempt to imitate it under an Islamic guise. Instead, it requires a collective effort to develop an Islamic economic system that originates from the essence of Islam, which is founded on the consideration of the objectives of Sharia.

The prominent scholar Muhammad Al-Tahir Ibn Ashour (d. 1973) referred to this in his works: "It has been established among our scholars that the preservation of wealth is one of the foundational rules of Sharia that fall under the category of necessity. Their discussions indicate that the system for the growth of wealth and methods of its circulation constitute the majority of issues related to needs, such as sales, leasing, and Salam (Forward buying) contracts. I have mentioned in the previous section that the most important objective is the preservation of the nation’s wealth and its provision for the nation. Since the nation's wealth is collective in nature, its preservation occurs through regulating the methods of its overall management and the means of preserving individuals' wealth, as the preservation of the collective depends on preserving its components. Most of the financial legislation is related to the preservation of individuals' wealth, which ultimately leads to the preservation of the nation’s wealth, as the benefits of private wealth return to the public benefit of the nation's wealth" [Objectives of Islamic Legislation, Muhammad Al-Tahir Ibn Ashour, Dar Al-Kitab Al-Misri, Cairo, Dar Al-Kitab Al-Lubnani, Beirut, introduction by Hatim Bou Sema, 1st ed., 2011, pp. 297-298].

We notice in the words of this eminent juristic scholar a remarkable connection between the general and the specific, between objectives and means, and between the necessary and the need-based. The preservation of the nation's wealth is a necessary general objective, for which specific need-based means have been established, including the system for the growth of wealth, which encompasses all Sharia investment operations, means of circulation, and trading methods.

Furthermore, one of the necessary means to maintain the objective of preserving the nation’s wealth is regulating the management methods of its overall wealth, which includes official government management of funds, and regulating the preservation of individuals' wealth and the means of managing it, which includes private management of funds and banks.

It is also important to emphasize the significance of grounding Islamic banking fatwas in the general objectives of Sharia and considering the outcomes when issuing financial fatwas. In this regard, Imam Al-Shatibi — may Allah have mercy on him — stated: "Considering the outcomes of actions is a Sharia intended goal. Actions, whether in accordance with or in opposition to the Sharia, must be assessed based on what those actions will lead to." [Al-Muwafaqat Fi Usul Al-Shari'ah by Imam Abu Ishaq Al-Shatibi, with commentary by Sheikh Abdullah Daraz, Dar Al-Hadith, Cairo, 2006, vol. 4, pp. 431-432].

In another context, Imam Al-Shatibi said: "Anyone who seeks in the duties of Sharia something other than what it was intended for has contradicted Sharia, and anyone who contradicts it has invalidated their actions." [Al-Muwafaqat Fi Usul Al-Shari'ah by Imam Al-Shatibi, vol. 2, pp. 495].

Thus, it is a comprehensive reform project aimed at rectifying the course of Islamic banking, striving to develop it, and enabling it to compete in a market lacking the meanings of the lofty objectives of Sharia, which are based on achieving benefits and warding off harm. This project relies on four foundational principles:

1. Prohibition of oppression.

2. Prohibition of usury/Riba.

3. Prohibition of uncertainty/Gharar.

4. Consideration of objectives and benefits. [These principles were mentioned by Imam Ibn Al-Arabi Al-Maliki (d. 543 AH) in his interpretation of the rulings of the Quran, edited by Ali Muhammad Al-Bajawi, Dar Iḥya Al-Turath Al-Arabi, Beirut, Lebanon, 1st ed., vol. 1, pp. 110].

When all aspects related to Islamic banking — administrative, technical, legal, and Islamic — adhere to the aforementioned four principles, there will be no oppression, no usury, no uncertainty, and no violation of the requirements of the Sharia objectives. At that point, we will have placed our foot on the path to genuine reform that leads to change, innovation, and development in various aspects of Islamic banking. There is no doubt that this project requires specialized and skilled scholars, sincere intentions, and high aspirations.

And indeed, Allah is The Granter of success.

 

The published article reflects the opinion of its author

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on one who wiped over his leather socks (*khuff*) while resident and then traveled, or wiped while traveling and then became resident? And likewise, what is the ruling on one who incurred a minor ritual impurity (*ḥadath aṣghar*) while resident, then traveled and wiped while traveling?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
Whoever wipes over his leather socks (khuffayn) while resident and then travels, or wipes while traveling and then becomes resident, before a day and a night have passed in both cases, completes the wiping period of a resident. If he wipes while resident and then travels after a day and a night have passed, he must remove the socks, because the period has ended. Likewise, if he wipes while traveling and then becomes resident after a day and a night have passed, he must remove them as well.
Whoever breaks his wuḍūʾ while resident and then wipes while traveling takes the ruling of a traveler as regards the duration of wiping, so long as he does not become resident. It is stated in ʿUmdat al-Sālik wa ʿUddat al-Nāsik (Vol.1/p.15): “If he wipes over both [socks] or one of them while resident and then travels, or wipes while traveling and then becomes resident, or doubts whether he began the wiping while traveling or while resident, he completes only the wiping period of a resident. But if he broke his wuḍūʾ while resident and wiped while traveling, he completes the period of a traveler, whether or not the full time of a prayer had passed over him while resident.” And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on performing the night prayer (*qiyām al-layl*) between the first and second adhān of Fajr? And which is better: delaying the prayer until shortly before the Fajr adhān, or performing it earlier than that?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
The time for night prayer (qiyām al-layl) begins after the Maghrib prayer and lasts until the second adhān of Fajr. The best time for it is the last third of the night, and best of all are the fourth and fifth sixths of the night. If the night is divided into two halves, the latter half is better.
Whoever intends to pray at night is encouraged to delay the Witr until he has prayed the night prayer. If he knows that he will not wake up, it is better for him to pray and perform Witr before sleeping, so that he does not miss both the night prayer and the Witr.
It is stated in Mughnī al-Muḥtāj (Vpl.1/p.462): “I say: The voluntary prayer of the night, that is, the absolute voluntary prayer (al-nafl al-muṭlaq), is better than the absolute voluntary prayer of the day, because of the report in Muslim: ‘The best prayer after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer.’ In another narration of his: ‘In the night there is an hour that no Muslim man meets while asking Allah for any good of this world and the next except that He gives it to him, and that is every night.’ It is also because the night is a time of heedlessness. I restricted the voluntary prayer to the absolute kind following the commentator, although what the ḥadīth and the underlying meaning require is that the night rawātib be preferred over the day rawātib, since the jurists preferred the two rakʿahs of Fajr over everything except Witr. The middle of the night is better than its two ends if it is divided into thirds, because heedlessness is greatest then and worship is hardest. If he wishes to pray during some third, the best is the fourth and fifth sixths, based on the ḥadīth in the two Ṣaḥīḥs: ‘The most beloved prayer to Allah the Exalted is the prayer of Dāwūd: he would sleep half the night, stand for a third of it, and sleep for a sixth.’ Then the latter part is better than the first if he divides it into two halves, because of the saying of Allah the Exalted: ‘And in the hours before dawn they would ask forgiveness’ [al-Dhāriyāt: 18], and the report of the two Shaykhs: ‘Our Lord, Blessed and Exalted, descends,’ meaning His command descends, ‘to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains, and says: Who calls upon Me, that I may answer him? Who asks of Me, that I may give him? Who seeks My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?’”
It is also stated in ʿUmdat al-Sālik (p. 60): “It is better to perform it [the Witr] immediately after the sunnah of ʿIshāʾ, unless he has tahajjud, in which case it is better to delay it so that he performs Witr after it. If he performs Witr and then wishes to pray tahajjud, he prays two rakʿahs at a time and does not repeat the Witr, nor does he need to cancel it with a single rakʿah before the tahajjud. It is recommended that he not deliberately pray after it.”
Qiyām al-layl is a term applied to any prayer performed at night. Tahajjud, on the other hand, refers to the night prayer that follows sleep, whether it is prayed after Maghrib or after ʿIshāʾ, or the prayer performed after ʿIshāʾ without sleep. On this basis, the Witr is also called tahajjud, since it is only prayed after ʿIshāʾ.
It is stated in al-Majmūʿ (Vol.4/p.84): “The sound position, as stated in al-Umm and al-Mukhtaṣar, is that the Witr is called tahajjud.”
It is stated in Nihāyat al-Zayn (Vol.1/p.114): “Among the absolute voluntary prayers is qiyām al-layl. If it is performed after sleep, even during the time of Maghrib and after having prayed ʿIshāʾ early (taqdīman), it is called tahajjud.”
And it is stated in Ḥāshiyat al-Bujayrimī ʿalā al-Khaṭīb (Vol.1/p.418): “His statement: ‘(the night prayer)’: the genitive construction (iḍāfah) carries the sense of fī, meaning a prayer in the night. His statement: ‘(it would be more fitting)’: the reason it is more fitting is that the night prayer includes both tahajjud and other prayers.” And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on a latecomer who joins the imam during the standing position of the first rakʿah but was unable to complete the recitation of al-Fātiḥah?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
If a latecomer (masbuq) joins the prayer while the imam is standing, he should begin reciting Sūrat al-Fātiḥah immediately, without pausing to recite the opening supplication (duʿāʾ al-istiftāḥ) or the seeking of refuge (taʿawwudh). If the imam bows before he completes al-Fātiḥah, he follows the imam into the bow and leaves whatever remains of al-Fātiḥah — the imam bears it on his behalf.
It is stated in ʿUmdat al-Sālik (p. 47): "If a latecomer finds the imam standing and is confident that he has enough time to recite the taʿawwudh and al-Fātiḥah in full, he may do so. If he is uncertain, he should neither recite the opening supplication nor the taʿawwudh, but rather begin directly with al-Fātiḥah. If the imam bows before he completes it, he follows him into the bow — provided he had not already begun the opening supplication or the taʿawwudh. If he had begun either of them, he continues reciting al-Fātiḥah for as long as he spent on them." And Allah the Almighty knows best.

Is Zakah (obligatory charity) due on the money saved for marriage?

Zakah is due on the money saved for marriage if it reached the Nissab (minimum amount liable for Zakah), and a whole lunar year had lapsed over possessing it.

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