Maslahah Mursalah free essay sample

Historically, the notion of maslahah mursalah originated in the practice of the Companions. This is, of course, not to say that the Prophet did not rule in favour of maslahah, but merely to point out that as a principle of jurisprudence, maslahah mursalah does not apply to the rulings of the Sunnah. The main support for istislah as a proof and basis of legislation (tashri) comes from Imam Malik, who has given the following reasons in its favour: The Companions have validated it and have formulated the rules of Shariah on its basis. When the maslahah is compatible with the objectives of the Lawgiver (maqasid al-shari`) or falls within the genus or category of what the Lawgiver has expressly validated, it must be upheld. For neglecting it under such circumstances is tantamount to neglecting the objectives of the Lawgiver, which is to be avoided. Hence maslahah as such is a norm of the Shariah in its own right; it is by no means extraneous to the Shari`ah but an integral pair of it. We will write a custom essay sample on Maslahah Mursalah or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When maslahah is of the genus of the approved masalih and is not upheld, the likely result would be to inflict hardship on the people, which must be prevented. Shatibi, I`tisam, II, 282-287; Abu Zahrah, Usul, p. 223. ] Conditions (Shurut) of Maslahah MursalahThe following conditions must be fulfilled in order to validate reliance on maslahah mursalah. The maslahah must be genuine (haqiqiyyah), as opposed to a specious maslahah (maslahah wahmiyyah), which is not a proper ground for legislation. The second condition is that the maslahah must be general (kulliyyah) in that it secures benefit, or prevents harm, to the people as a whole and not to a particular person or group of persons. The maslahah must not be in conflict with a principle or value which is upheld by the nass or ijma`.