A Critical Assessment of the Foundational Goals of the Islamic Law in Ghazzali's Thought

Maqasid al-Shariah as the philosophy of Islamic laws or the purposes of Islamic faith which have also recently made their way into Shia researcher's studies is, in fact, the intellectual legacy of Abu Hamid Ghazzali, a sixthIslamic century Shafeei jurist. It was Ghazzali who, for the first time, used the foundational purpose of the Islamic faith as a theory through which to do away with a part of the issues for which there were no explicit references in the Quran and prophetic tradition. This was an approach different from those of his predecessors but it was consistent with rational standards. Obviously, the proposition of such an idea having certain implications in Sunni jurisprudence is unprecedented in Shia jurisprudence and the need for such a theory was never felt because the Shia jurisprudence relying on the doctrines of the infallible leaders in all domains not only benefits from specific explicit evidences but it also has certain principles through which it can continue to address all areas of human life without having to resort to any other tools. In addition, the theory itself needs to be mused over since it is confined to five fundamental goals, not to mention the fact that it is not compatible with the major principles of Asharite school of jurisprudence and that it lacks genuineness as compared to analogy and masalih mursalah (consideration of public interest).