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The Islamic Principle of Maslaha as Practical Wisdom for Human Development

In: Cultural Roots of Sustainable Management

Author

Listed:
  • Jochen Lobah

    (Hanns Seidel Foundation)

Abstract

The Islamic principle of maslaha, which may be translated as “preventing harm” or “benefit” for individuals and the society as a whole, is a very important concept within the framework of Muslim jurisprudence. Even within the context of very literal interpretations of Islamic legal references like in the Hanbali or the still sporadically existing Zahiri school of jurisprudence, maslaha has been serving as a tool to find solutions to relevant social, economic and individual problems for which there are no clear-cut legal stipulations in the Koran and the Sunna tradition. The principle of maslaha can be characterized as a hermeneutic tool to tackle everyday problems in a Muslim society. Its approach is a holistic one to the message of Islam, emphasizing the principles of social justice, peace and human development. Due to an evident stagnation of independent legal reasoning within Muslim history and the closing of the door of ijtihad (free investigation) from the thirteenth century onwards, Muslim thought has not been able to cope with contemporary challenges of the modern global society, particularly with regard to governmental, economic and environmental issues. The text tries to revitalize a Muslim tradition of thought which might able to contribute to sustainable human development and to provide adequate answers to today’s prevailing “misosophy” of unrestrained growth, abuse of power as well as social exclusion and environmental destruction.

Suggested Citation

  • Jochen Lobah, 2016. "The Islamic Principle of Maslaha as Practical Wisdom for Human Development," CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance, in: André Habisch & René Schmidpeter (ed.), Cultural Roots of Sustainable Management, pages 145-151, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:csrchp:978-3-319-28287-9_11
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-28287-9_11
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