Objectives of Islamic law:
Among the linguistic meanings of qasd are reliance, intention, approaching something and turning towards it. It is said: “the matter directed me towards it”; “it is qasduka or qasdaka”, meaning facing you. The expressions qasadtuhu, qasadtu lahu and qasadtu ilayhi have the same meaning; qasadtu qasdahu means “I headed in his direction”.[1] Scholars use this sense when they say “the purpose of the law” or “the objectives of Islamic law”. They mean those meanings within the establishment of Islamic law and its rulings that the wise Lawgiver intended to be realised for those who act upon it in this world and the hereafter.
The Tunisian Ibn Ashur (d. 1393 AH) said: “The general objectives of legislation are the meanings and wisdoms considered by the Lawgiver in all or most circumstances of legislation, such that their consideration is not confined to one particular category of Islamic legal rulings. This includes the characteristics of Islamic law, its general aim, and the meanings whose consideration is never absent from legislation. It also includes meanings of wisdom that are not considered in every category of ruling, but are considered in many categories.”[2]
The synonymy here between the terms wisdom and objectives is clear, and both occur in the writings of earlier scholars. Contemporary writers have expanded their use of “objectives of Islamic law”, speaking and writing about them extensively. Some of them hold corrupt conceptions and harmful aims, through which they seek to invalidate the texts, overturn the fixed principles of Islamic law, change its rulings, and affirm that its highest objective is developing the earth and establishing a virtuous society!
[1] Ibn Manzur (d. 711 AH), Lisan al-Arab, Dar Sadir, Beirut, 1414 AH, 3/353, entry “q-s-d”.
[2] Shaykh Muhammad al-Tahir Ibn Ashur, The Objectives of Islamic Law, Tunisian Distribution Company, 1978, p. 51.