The criteria of  expediency in Shiite jurisprudence

Instrumental and undue use of the concept of ‘expediency’ [maṣliḥah] in material schools of thought and in Sunnite jurisprudence resultedin distancing from the goals of religion. As a result, specifying the criteria for making use of the concept of expediency in Shiite jurisprudence and distinguishing it from other interpretations of this concept is of great importance. Three kinds of criteria can be distinguished here. On the one hand, the concept of expediency, in the sense of “including stable material and spiritual benefits,” collocates with elements such as ‘ḥikmah’ [wisdom] and prudence. On the other hand, there are general criteria such as “not disagreeing with shari’a and its goals” and “preference of the most important over the important.” However, since the question that what are the criteria for preferring one over the other still remains valid, one must resort to more specific criteria such “having knowledge of time and place,” “having prudence and multi-aspect perspective,” “purposiveness,” “priority of society over individual,” “expertness and consultation,” and “necessity of consulting with the ruler.”