Abstract:
This paper critically assesses how Islamic scholars have been utilizing the theory of
Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿa in responding to challengers of political modernity. After outlining the
key scholarly arguments of last 150 years on the subject, I argue that both the Islamic
political thought and Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿa as a discipline have experienced structural changes
in that particular period. In this process, Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿa was able to unlock itself from
legal (Fiqhi) domain whereas Islamic political thought reconciled itself with political
modernity for some extent. Yet, the shaping of Islamic political thought was much influenced
by the pressure of outer context rather than proper epistemic justifications. I conclude with
Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿa and its latest development as an ‘evaluative paradigm’ might has the
potential to fill this gap and yet, it is too early to consolidate such an argument. The research
fellows the qualitative model and its data are derived from the secondary sources such as
books and articles.
