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Did Ibn Hazm give attention to the Sharia objectives?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Ibn Hazm does not consider the Maqasid (objectives of Islamic law); he invalidated Qiyas (analogical reasoning), Ilal (legal causes), Sadd al-Dhara’i (blocking the means to evil), and other principles, which makes him deal with the Maqasid al-Shariah (objectives of Islamic law) only through invalidation. The Zahiris generally do not differentiate between Ibadat (acts of worship) and Adat (customs), and for them, everything is ghair maqul al-mana (beyond rational comprehension), so they do not advocate for Masalih (public interests), let alone Masalih Mursalah (unrestricted public interests). Masalih Mursalah ultimately aims at preserving necessities and removing hardship. The Zahiris faced opposition from Al-Shatibi for their rejection of Talil (causality) and Maqasid. It is worth noting that Abu Zahra believed that Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) would not yield its fruits except by highlighting the Maqasid, and this contradicts the approach of Ibn Hazm, who rejects Talil.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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