With the end of the early Islamic period, Muslim scholars came to sense that a rift had begun to emerge between the teachings and principles of Islam and Muslims’ daily reality and practices. The most important means by which scholars sought to restore the intimate contact between Muslims and the Qur’an was to study the objectives of Islam, the causes behind Islamic legal rulings and the intentions and goals underlying the Shari'ah, or Islamic Law. They made it clear that every legal ruling in Islam has a function which it performs, an aim which it realizes, a cause, be it explicit or implicit, and an intention which it seeks to fulfill, and all of this in order to realize benefit to human beings or to ward off harm or corruption. They showed how these intentions, and higher objectives might at times be contained explicitly in the texts of the Qur’an and the Sunnah, while at other times, scholars might bring them to light by means of independent reasoning based on their understanding of the Qur’an and the Sunnah within a framework of time and space. This book represents a pioneering contribution presenting a comprehensive theory of the objectives of Islamic law in its various aspects, as well as a painstaking study of objectives-based thought as pioneered by the father of objectives-based jurisprudence, Imam Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi; in addition, the author presents us with an important study of al-Shatibi himself which offers a wealth of new, beneficial information about the life, thought and method of this venerable man.

With the end of the early Islamic period, Muslim scholars came to sense that a rift had begun to ‎emerge between the teachings and principles of Islam and Muslims’ daily reality and practices. The ‎most important means by which scholars sought to restore the intimate contact between Muslims ‎and the Qur’an was to study the objectives of Islam, the causes behind Islamic legal rulings and the ‎intentions and goals underlying the Shari'ah, or Islamic Law. They made it clear that every legal ‎ruling in Islam has a function which it performs, an aim which it realizes, a cause, be it explicit or ‎implicit, and an intention which it seeks to fulfill, and all of this in order to realize benefit to human ‎beings or to ward off harm or corruption. They showed how these intentions, and higher objectives ‎might at times be contained explicitly in the texts of the Qur’an and the Sunnah, while at other ‎times, scholars might bring them to light by means of independent reasoning based on their ‎understanding of the Qur’an and the Sunnah within a framework of time and space.‎ This book represents a pioneering contribution presenting a comprehensive theory of the objectives ‎of Islamic law in its various aspects, as well as a painstaking study of objectives-based thought as ‎pioneered by the father of objectives-based jurisprudence, Imam Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi; in addition, ‎the author presents us with an important study of al-Shatibi himself which offers a wealth of new, ‎beneficial information about the life, thought and method of this venerable man.‎

Dr. Musfir bin Ali al-Qahtani's work contributes to the ever-growing body of scholarly literature in the field of maqasid al-Shari'ah (higher objectives of Islamic law). Understanding Maqasid al-Shari’ah calls for the development of a juridical sense that is finely tuned to the higher objectives and purposes of Islamic rulings, the aims of which are the formulation of a new methodology in understanding the revealed texts and the reform of Muslim thought and its application. The author draws attention to the importance of understanding various levels of maqasid, including distinguishing between primary aims (al-maqasid al-asliyyah) and secondary aims (al-maqasid al-tabi'ah). Al-Qahtani asserts that a positive understanding of the objectives of the Shari'ah should produce affirming human and cultural developments in Muslim societies. The real strength of this work, however, is in the author's application of higher objectives and aims to different areas of jurisprudence, such as in deriving and issuing religious rulings (ifta'). and to important social issues and problems present in Muslim societies, such as extremism, jihad, commanding right and forbidding wrong, social change, crisis of Muslim thought, countering religious excessiveness, the need for recreation and leisure, citizenship and nation-belonging, spreading beauty and harmony in Islam, and the role of Muslim women in society.

Dr. Musafir bin Ali al-Qahtani's work contributes to the ever-growing body of scholarly literature in the field of maqasid al-Shari'ah (higher objectives of Islamic law). Understanding Maqasid al-Shari’ah calls for the development of a juridicial sense that is finely tuned to the higher objectives and purposes of Islamic rulings, the aims of which are the formulation of a new methodology in understanding the revealed texts and the reform of Muslim thought and its application. The author draws attention to the importance of understanding various levels of maqasid, including distinguishing between primary aims (al-maqasid al-asliyyah) and secondary aims (al-maqasid al-tabi'ah). Al-Qahtani asserts that a positive understanding of the objectives of the Shari'ah should produce affirming human and cultural developments in Muslim societies. The real strength of this work, however, is in the author's application of higher objectives and aims to different areas of jurisprudence, such as in deriving and issuing religious rulings (ifta'). and to important social issues and problems present in Muslim societies, such as extremism, jihad, commanding right and forbidding wrong, social change, crisis of Muslim thought, countering religious excessiveness, the need for recreation and leisure, citizenship and nation-belonging, spreading beauty and harmony in Islam, and the role of Muslim women in society.

The Epistle on Legal Theory is the oldest surviving Arabic work on Islamic legal theory and the foundational document of Islamic jurisprudence. Its author, Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi'i (d. 204/820), was the eponym of the Shafi'i school of legal thought, one of the four rites in Sunni Islam. This fascinating work offers the first systematic treatment in Arabic of key issues in Islamic legal thought. These include a survey of the importance of Arabic as the language of revelation, principles of textual interpretation to be applied to the Qur'an and prophetic Traditions, techniques for harmonizing apparently contradictory precedents, legal epistemology, rules of inference, and discussions of when legal interpretation is required. The author illustrates his theoretical claims with numerous examples drawn from nearly all areas of Islamic law, including ritual law, commercial law, tort law, and criminal law. The text thus provides an important window into both Islamic law and legal thought in particular and early Islamic intellectual history in general . This new translation by a leading scholar of al-Shafi'i and his thought makes available in lucid, modern English one of the earliest complete works on Islamic law—one that is centrally important for the formation of Islamic legal thought and the Islamic legal tradition. An English-only edition.

This book has been prepared for the beginner, especially those students studying at a "madrasah". Many Arabic terminologies have been maintained with the translation in the bracket. Footnotes provide assistance for teacher in explaining the text. The students are required to be familiar with the text of Safīnat al-najāʾ. It is better if the students can memorize the Arabic text so that they gain acquaintance with the jurisprudence or at least be able to read it fluently. Every effort was made to present a precise and accurate translation with proper explanations. The explanations were mostly derived from "Kāshifat al-sajāʾ sharh Safīnat al-najāʾ", "Umdatus Salik - Reliance of the Traveller" and "al-Iqnāʿ fī halli alfāẓi matn Abī Shujāʿ". The additional chapter of Ḥajj and ʿUmrah was taken from the "Al-Fiqh al-manhaji ʿalā madhhab al-Imām al-Shāfiʿī, " and "Reliance of the Traveller".The measurements and conversions were based on the book, "al-Maqādīr al-sharʿiyyah" by Dr. Najm al-dīn al-Kurdī. The biographical notes were taken from the book, "Reliance of the Traveller".

This book has been prepared for the beginner, especially those students studying at a "madrasah". Many Arabic terminologies have been maintained with the translation in the bracket. Footnotes provide assistance for teacher in explaining the text. The students are required to be familiar with the text of Safīnat al-najāʾ. It is better if the students can memorize the Arabic text so that they gain acquaintance with the jurisprudence or at least be able to read it fluently. Every effort was made to present a precise and accurate translation with proper explanations. The explanations were mostly derived from "Kāshifat al-sajāʾ sharh Safīnat al-najāʾ", "Reliance of the Traveller" and "al-Iqnāʿ fī halli alfāẓi matn Abī Shujāʿ". The additional chapter of Ḥajj and ʿUmrah was taken from the "Al-Fiqh al-manhaji ʿalā madhhab al-Imām al-Shāfiʿī," and "Reliance of the Traveller".The measurements and conversions were based on the book, "al-Maqādīr al-sharʿiyyah" by Dr. Najm al-dīn al-Kurdī. The biographical notes were taken from the book, "Reliance of the Traveller".