Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm b. Mūsā b. Muḥammad al-Lakhmī al-Shāṭibī al-Gharnāṭī – „al-Shāṭibī‟ – was a fourteenth century Granadan Mālikī religio-legal theorist and jurisconsult. His best known work – al-Muwāfaqāt fī uṣūl al-sharīʽa – proposed a significant reinterpretation of religio-legal epistemology and hermeneutics emphasizing a holistic reading of scripture focusing on the divine purposes [maqāṣid] underlying specific ethico-legal rulings. Although barely noticed over several centuries, Shāṭibī‟s work has, in the last century, gained the attention of Islamic religio-legal reformers, who see in it an anticipation of their project. Al-Muwāfaqāt, Shāṭibī‟s attempt to identify and analyze the fundamental principles of religious jurisprudence, is divided into five volumes – Premises, Religio-legal Categories, Purposes of the Divine Law, Legal Indicants, and Jurisprudential Expertise. The first volume articulates and defends the vii thirteen premises [muqaddamāt] that form the basis for Shāṭibī‟s theory of religious law. This thesis comprises a translation and analysis of that first volume. The translation is generously supplemented by bracketed syntactic and referential glosses to facilitate comprehension and readability. The analytical commentary attempts to provide some clarification of the gist of the argument as well as modest interpretation. A brief introduction offers an overall interpretation of the significance of the work as well as some background necessary to make sense of the author‟s discussion. / text

The future of political Islam, especially in respect to its response to the contemporary salient liberal values, has attracted immense scholarly interest. Some scholars expect a perpetual conflict because of the inherent 'illiberalism' of Islam; while others project an imminent post-Islamist turn, as liberal politics takes hold in Muslim societies. Examining the discourses of Arab Islamists, my dissertation points to a different development. Based on a comprehensive textual analysis of the writings of five contemporary Arab Islamists, projected against a survey of a century of Arab Islamic juridico-political thought—including three decades of engagement with democracy—I argue that these Islamists have formulated coherent (in foro interno) foundations for an Islamic rational state. These foundations, which reflect neither an abandonment of all traditional Islamist aims nor a neglect of divine texts, rest on a reconfiguration of Islamic legal theory, in which classical methods of textual analysis are discarded in favor of a systematic rational exploration of the Lawgiver's aims (maqasid). This novel hermeneutics warranted the exclusion of all past Islamic juridico-political frames (including the early Islamic caliphate) and their rationalizations as binding. Thus, unencumbered by legal precedents, these Islamists conceptualize the political sphere as anthropocentric and therefore open to reasonable overlapping consensus.

Tradition is characterised by the dynamics of simultaneous innovation and continuity. The Islamic tradition is a case-in-point where its internal elements are reconstructed through transmission, reception and interpretation. A vast body of texts, rituals and institutions, I contend has been subject to scrutiny and modification by Muslim scholars. Muhammad al-Ghazali’s works are examined, alongside those of his predecessors and peers, in this study for the purpose of establishing the facets of continuity and innovation in his thought. Twentieth century Muslim reformers such as al-Ghazali were heirs of the turath (Arabo-Islamic heritage) constructed over a period of 14 centuries. The tendency of tajdid (renewal) is implicated in a web of authoritative texts, juristic methods and moral norms. Calls to revive the practice of ijtihad (independent judgement) to interpret Islamic law, enveloping ethics and politics, were motivated by the search for the authentic spirit of Islam in the past. This search was also accompanied by the recovery of the ideal norms contained in the texts of the Shari’ah (the way). Reformist thinking since the eve of the twentieth century has privileged the maqasid al-Shari’ah (objectives of the Shari’ah) to varying degrees. In this study, I consider a range of Muslim scholars from the classical period until the present who espoused the ethos of tajdid. Moreover, I seek to propose an alternative reading of tradition contrary to the account of a dynamic modernity and a static tradition. The application of tradition as a concept of interpretation in this study seeks to situate al-Ghazali’s thought in the broader current of tajdid part of a vibrant past. I aim to provide a thick description of the works of al-Ghazali as an important example of a reformist venture maintaining the continuity of tradition. Additionally, the examination of a diversity of Muslim scholars aims to illustrate the patchwork composition of tradition in the past and the present.

The intention of this thesis is to demonstrate the necessity to revisit and utilize the principles, purposes and objectives (Maqasid) of the Qur'an and Sunnah as the methodology to expose erroneous beliefs that have pervaded the religion of Islam past and present. According to the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet, the religion would become corrupted. Conversely, Allah Most High vows to protect the religion of Islam and the Sunnah of the Prophet through human agency. This thesis will articulate the styles of deviation that have been mentioned within the Qur'an and Sunnah and will propose the system of maqasid as a necessary corrective to maintain faithfulness in lieu of the prevalence towards deviation. The religion of Islam has historically been contaminated through literalism, divergent beliefs and practices, corruption of the Sunnah and incorrect legal judgments (ijtihad). The exoteric aspect of the religion has been obsessively exaggerated while the esoteric (tasawwuf), or the spiritual aspect of the heart has been condemned as an innovation. Renewal (tajdid) of the religion is a perpetual obligation on the Muslims to return to the objectives or the maqasid of revelation. I propose the knowledge and application of the principles, purposes and objectives (Maqasid al-Shari'ah) of the Qur'an coupled with the maqasid of the Prophetic Sunnah is the illuminating methodology for tajdid. I will demonstrate that revisiting disputed fatawa, fiqh and hadiths through the prism of Maqasid al-Shari'ah is the most logical methodology to expose fallacious beliefs from antiquity and clarify contemporary deviations propagated with the advent of mass literacy. / Religion

Au cours de ces dernières décennies, le concept de la compétitivité s'est établi comme un mot-clé important dans la vie sociale, à l’échelle micro-économique et surtout macro-économique. Au regard d’une mondialisation grandissante et de l'expansion des marchés mondiaux, la compétitivité peut quelque fois se limiter à l’aspect purement économique et commercial. Alors que l’examen des différents défis économiques, sociaux et environnementaux qui préoccupent de nos jours l’humanité conduit à reconsidérer les modèles d’évaluation de la croissance économique adoptée, à reconnaitre leurs limites et à apporter un jugement critique sur l’évaluation de la compétitivité. Ce travail se propose donc d’explorer quelques possibilités de l’intégration contemporaine de principes « éthiques » dans le concept de la compétitivité macroéconomique. Prenant en compte la dynamique du concept de la compétitivité, la thèse analyse l’histoire et l’évolution de cette notion. L’analyse engage alors une approche théorique, ensuite une étude comparée des différents indices d’évaluation de la compétitivité. L’objectif est d’examiner comment des principes éthiques peuvent être intégrés pour la mesure et l’évaluation de la compétitivité des pays, c’est-à-dire comment elle pourrait être évaluée au-delà du PIB et des résultats commerciaux et comment elle rejoint également la préoccupation pour les inégalités, la pauvreté, le changement climatique dans des domaines aussi différents que la santé, l’éducation, l’eau et l’agriculture …Les objectifs de la Charia (Maqasid Charia) constituent une assise convenable pour construire un nouvel indice de compétitivité éthique, permettant ainsi la contribution de différents pays, même non musulmans, à chacun des objectifs de la Charia. / Throughout the past decades, competitiveness was established as an important concept in social life, at micro and especially macro levels. With globalization and the expansion of global markets, competitiveness can sometimes be limited to purely economic and commercial dimensions. While examining various current economic, social and environmental challenges that affect today’s economy and humanity, the thesis reconsiders the economic growth assessment models adopted, to recognize their limits and put forward critical judgment on the assessment of competitiveness. This study develops, therefore, an exploration of some possibilities of contemporary integration of "ethical" principles into the concept of macroeconomic competitiveness.Taking into account the dynamics of the concept of competitiveness, the thesis analyzes the history and evolution of this concept. The analysis puts forward a theoretical approach, followed by a comparative study of different indices for assessing competitiveness. The aim is to examine how ethical principles are integrated to measure countries' competitiveness. That is, how competitiveness could be evaluated beyond the GDP and trade outcomes and that it also incorporates the measures of inequality, poverty, climate change, health, education, water, agriculture etc. The objectives of Shariah (Maqasid al Shariah) present a suitable foundation to build a new ethical competitiveness index that measures countries’ contribution to the objectives of the Shariah.

Some of the attributes of a perfect being (e.g. first cause, necessary being, intelligent creator) are established on the basis of theological arguments such as the cosmological and the teleological. At the deepest level, these theological arguments are based on principles of rational psychology such as simplicity and sufficient reason. Moreover, belief that the perfect being is the moral omnipotent God is an act of trust and thus based on the rational psychology of trust. Theists in the Abrahamic tradition subscribe to first cause/necessary being/intelligent creator theology and must therefore remain faithful to any psychological principles (simplicity, sufficient reason, trust) that are the rational grounds for believing in the existence of their God. But such faithfulness results in a deep tension within Judeo-Christian theism. For example, a Christian theist who believes in the Trinity must at the same time remain faithful to the principle of simplicity that rejects the Trinity. Because simplicity is the rational basis for the deeply cherished attributes of the Christian God (first cause/necessary being/intelligent creator), it is argued that faithfulness to psychological principles such as simplicity discipline Christian theistic belief, in particular the belief in the Trinity. Examples of this nature offer a framework for a similar disciplining of Islamic hermeneutics on the basis of rational psychology. Muslim interpreters tend not to systematically engage in the philosophy of religion, and for this reason do not explicitly articulate the psychological principles that gave them their theistic Muslim identity. As a result, they deviate from such principles when it comes time to interpret the original sources of Islam (Quran and Sunna). Consistency is one of the demands of rationality, and it is inconsistent to assume principles in arriving at a theistic Muslim identity and then subsequently fail to apply those principles consistently to the task of textual interpretation.

Den islamiska rätten vilar på fyra rättskällor. Koranen, som enligt muslimsk uppfattning anses vara Guds bokstavliga och perfekt bevarade Tal är den högsta rättskällan. Koranen tolkas främst med hjälp av en språklig analys av relevanta verser tillsammans med de omständigheter som antas ha framkallat vissa verser. Därefter kommer profeten Muhammeds sunna som utgörs av hans gärning i tal och ageranden. Profetens sunna är bevarad i formen av hadither i diverse hadithsammanställningar. En hadith är i princip en rapport om en historisk händelse, men som vanligtvis relaterar till profetens sunna. Inom den islamiska rättstraditionen har en hel vetenskap utvecklats i syfte att identifiera och särskilja autentiska hadither ifrån fabricerade. Profetens sunna anses bära legislativ vikt och förklara hur koranens påbud och etik ska efterlevas i praktiken. Den tredje rättskällan utgörs av principen om ijma’ (konsensus). När det muslimska samfundet av rättslärda är helt eniga i en fråga om tolkningen av koranen och profetens sunna så anses deras konsensus bära en legislativ tyngd. Den fjärde rättskällan är qiyas (analogislut). Analogislut beskrivs som arketypen för all rättslig argumentation. Det avgörande vid tillämpningen av analogislut är identifierandet av en ratio legis. Ibland omnämns ratio legis explicit i en rättskälla och ibland är den endast implicerad. När ratio legis endast är implicerad så måste den verifieras som en legitim ratio legis eftersom alla ratio legis är ej legitima. Denna verifiering sker med hjälp av maqasid ash-shari’a (shari’ans ändamål). Shari’a anses ämna säkerställa fem övergripande ändamål som är bevarandet av tro, liv, avkomma, förnuft och förmögenhet. Dessa ändamål säkerställer mänskliga intressen nödvändiga för balans och harmoni, både i det världsliga livet som på domedagen. När ratio legis överensstämmer med dessa fem ändamål, så anses den vara legitim. Inom shari’a finns även ett antal olika rättsaktörer där den viktigaste är en mujtahid. En mujtahid är en kvalificerad jurist som kan utföra ijtihad och finna svaret på rättsliga frågor som ej besvaras uttryckligen i rättskällorna. I den islamiska rättstraditionen finns även rättsskolor. Det kännetecknande för rättsskolorna är juristernas enande kring en samling rättsliga principer. Det finns fyra rättsskolor i den islamiska rättstraditionen, den hanafitiska, den shafi’itiska, den hanbalitiska och den malikitiska.