Thinker · TH-0051
Al-Shatibi
Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi was a Maliki jurist of Nasrid Granada. In al-Muwāfaqāt he developed the theory of the objectives of the law (maqāṣid al-sharīʿa),…
أبو إسحاق الشاطبي
Also known as Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi
d. 1388 · Granada
Traditions: Islamic
Schools: Islamic jurisprudence
Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi was a Maliki jurist of Nasrid Granada. In al-Muwāfaqāt he developed the theory of the objectives of the law (maqāṣid al-sharīʿa), arguing that legal rulings serve identifiable purposes, chiefly the protection of religion, life, intellect, lineage and property. Interpreting the law through these objectives allows reasoned judgement in novel cases, and the theory has been widely revived in modern Islamic ethics.
Key ideas
- The law as a whole aims at human welfare in this world and the next.
- Its objectives protect religion, life, intellect, lineage and property.
- Objectives are ranked as necessities, needs and refinements.
- Novel cases can be judged by reasoning from the law's objectives, not only from analogy to particular texts.
Major works
- al-Muwāfaqāt fī uṣūl al-sharīʿa
- al-Iʿtiṣām
In the conversation
- Question What are the “objectives of the law” (maqāṣid) that people keep mentioning, and why do they matter?
- Discussion Usul al-fiqh and Dworkin’s integrity: two ways of saying law is more than its rules
- Debate The Mu’tazila were right: reason can know that injustice is wrong before any revelation
- Question How does Islamic legal reasoning decide on a financial product that no text mentions?
In the Coordinates
The questions of philosophy where Al-Shatibi takes a place, from The Coordinates of Thought.
- 3.2.6 Divine Command Approaches How does a command create an obligation?
- 3.3 Applied Ethics What should be done in this case?