In the Name of Allāh,
the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful
Praise is due to Allāh, Lord of the worlds, may the blessings and peace be upon our master Muḥammad, the last of prophets, on his family, and all his companions.
Resolution No. 141 (7/15)
Unrestricted Public Interests and their Contemporary Applications
The Council of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, holding its 15th session in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, on 14–19 Muḥarram 1425h (6–11 March 2004),
Having examined the research papers submitted to the Academy concerning
Unrestricted Public Interests and their Contemporary Applications, Having listened to the discussions on the subject,
Having considered the Muslim consensus that Shariah rulings are based on the realization of public interests and aversion of harms,
Resolves
- The term Interest denotes maintaining the Legislator’s Objective, which is preserving of religion, self, mind, progeny, and Free-set Interest is the interest that is not, by itself or its kind, stated explicitly by the law-Giver as either considered or discarded. It falls under the “Grand Objectives” of Shariah.
-
The Fiqh scholar should make sure that interest fulfils the necessary re- quirements that it should be:
- Real; not
- General; not partial.
- Public; not
- Not-countered by another interest of its same grade or
- In conformity with the Objectives of
Scholars have set precise standards for distinguishing between the various types of public interests and prioritizing them based on what they apply to. Hence, they divided interests according to their significance to human life into three categories, ranked according to importance as follows:
- Necessities
- Needs
- Ameliorations
- It is well-established in Fiqh that the ruler’s actions regarding people must pursue the interest, and therefore he should observe that in discharging of public affairs. Also, people should obey him in that.
- Free-set interest has wide applications in society’s affairs and the econom- ic, social, educational, administrative, and judicial areas and their likes. This very fact manifests the perpetuity of Shariah and its reviving ability to fulfil the needs of human societies, as shown by the studies presented in this session.
Indeed, Allāh is the All-Knowing.
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