UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF MASLAHAH AND ITS PARAMETERS WHEN USED IN FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS

The consideration of public interest represents one of the promising bases of the Shari’ah for addressing the needs of Muslim society at large. The Shari’ah has given consideration to maslahah as a source of law in order to accommodate natural development and social changes and needs. However, maslahah should be addressed in ijtihad within particular Shari’ah standards and parameters to ensure that the exercise of ijtihad is conducted in a sound manner without contradicting the norms and principles of the Shari’ah. As is known, maslahah is one of the secondary sources of the Shari’ah that is widely recognised by scholars in issuing fatwa and resolutions. It represents one of the essential sources for dealing with issues and matters for which there is no explicit indication in the Qur’an or Sunnah. The ultimate objective in issuing fatwas and resolutions based on maslahah is preserving the interests of the public. The objective of enacting Shari’ah rules based on maslahah is to achieve fairness and justice by achieving benefits and removing hardships. In the context of Islamic finance, ijtihad based on maslahah is very essential, especially for regulators and corporate governance organs, which refer to them to provide standards, parameters, regulations and policy for the benefit of the Ummah. This study is an attempt to examine the parameters within which maslahah should be used, for utilising it without proper guidelines may lead to its abuse. The study begins by defining maslahah and examining the relationship between maslahah and maqasid. It then looks at the basis for consideration of maslahah in the Qur’an and Sunnah and examines jurists’ views on it. This is followed by a discussion of the parameters of maslahah and contemporary applications of maslahah in financial transactions, and, finally, the conclusion.