Maslahah as a Source of Islamic Transactions (Mu'amalat)/Maslahah Sebagai Sumber Transaksi Islam (Mu'amalat)

Headnote

ABSTRACT

Ijtihad is an important task, and the ability of undertaking it constitutes the main objective of the science of the principles of Islamic jurisprudence (cilm usul al-fiqh). Beside the principles of jurisprudence, legal maxims (qawacid fiqhiyyah) and purposes of the law (maqasid al-sharicah) lay at the core of its structure. In fact. Islamic law is synonyous with term maslahah, for, it aims at its attainment and the removal of its opposite harm (mafsadah). Recently, maslahah has emerged as an important source of the law and its capacity as such has been acknowledged by many scholars. This is particularly true in the areas of transactions and finance. Therefore, this paper attempts to examine the status of maslahah as a source of law in Islamic legal framework and deliberate on its conditions and criterion dawabit necessary for such consideration. A few instances of its application in the area of mucamalat (Islamic transactions) are presented to highlight its significance in such capacity.

Keywords: Maslahah, Source, Islamic Transaction, Múamalat

ABSTRAK

Ijtihad merupakan satu tugas penting dan ia menjadi matlamat utama dalam ilmu usul al-fiqh. Di samping ilmu usul fiqh, kaedah fiqhiyyah dan maqasid al-sharicah menjadi struktur utama ijtihad. Malah, syariat Islam sangat sinonim dengan istilah maslahah. Ini kerana syariat itu sendiri tertegak di atas landasan mewujudkan maslahah dan menolak mafsadah daripada manusia. Dewasa ini, maslahah menjadi asas hukum perundangan Islam dan kepentingannya diakui ramai sarjana Islam khususnya berkaitan hukum-hukum muamalat dan kewangan Islam. Justeru, kertas ini akan menjelaskan kedudukan maslahah sebagai sumber hukum dalam kerangka perundangan Islam dan membincangkan syarat dan dawabit serta kriteria yang perlu dipatuhi ketika menjadikan maslahah sebagai sumber. Beberapa contoh pengaplikasian maslahah dalam fiqh muamalat dikemukakan bagi membuktikan signifikan maslahah sebagai asas hukum dalam muamalat.

Kata Kunci: Maslahah, Sumber, Transaksi Islam, Múamalat

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INTRODUCTION

Generally speaking, maslahah (public interest) constitute the very base of the Islamic law. This means that any thing constituting public interest is recommemnded by Islam while, its opposite, things that cause harm, is prohibited. This is the basic principle unanimously agreed upon by all jurists (fuqaha). They also agree on the fact that Islamic law cater for the maslahah or good of mankind in this world as well as in the Hereafter (al-Bugha...