One of the primary objectives of the Shariah (famously known as Maqasid al-Shariah) is to ensure the preservation and growth of the community’s wealth. Since that wealth is an aggregate, it is protected by establishing appropriate rules for its management both at public (such as regulatory and supervisory agencies) and private levels (such as Islamic financial institutions). The protection of the community’s wealth as an aggregate depends on the protection of the property and wealth of its particular individuals. In other words, the wealth owned by individuals benefits both its respective owners and the whole community, for its utility is not restricted to the immediate beneficiaries handling it.
