The Maqāṣid al-Sharī'ah Approach in Contemporary Islamic Fatwas A Systematic Review of Methodological Integration and Jurisprudential Coherence
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Abstract
The application of maqāṣid al-sharīʿah in contemporary fatwa issuance has become an important methodological development in Islamic jurisprudence, particularly in addressing emerging issues in family law, finance, healthcare, technology, and environmental governance. This systematic review evaluates how maqāṣid-based reasoning is applied, justified, and methodologically integrated in contemporary fatwa discourse. A comprehensive search of Semantic Scholar using five search strategies identified studies on maqāṣid al-sharīʿah, fatwa formulation, and contemporary Islamic law. After screening 138 deduplicated records, 90 studies met the inclusion criteria. Two reviewers independently conducted study selection and data extraction, while risk of bias and certainty of evidence were assessed using domain-specific criteria and the GRADE framework. The included studies primarily addressed family law (32%), finance (24%), healthcare (10%), technology (8%), food and ḥalāl (6%), environmental governance (4%), and other issues. Findings indicate that the classical five objectives of maqāṣid—ḥifẓ al-dīn, ḥifẓ al-nafs, ḥifẓ al-ʿaql, ḥifẓ al-nasl, and ḥifẓ al-māl—remain the dominant analytical framework, although recent scholarship increasingly recognises ḥifẓ al-bīʾah (environmental preservation) as an emerging objective. Across jurisdictions, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt, and Iran, significant tensions persist between formal legal compliance and substantive ethical objectives, while institutional procedures for implementing maqāṣid-based fatwas remain inconsistent. Although maqāṣid al-sharīʿah demonstrates substantial adaptability to contemporary legal challenges, methodological standardisation across fatwa institutions is still limited (very low certainty of evidence). The review recommends developing harmonised methodological guidelines and strengthening institutional coordination to improve the consistency, transparency, and effectiveness of future fatwa formulation.
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