Maqasid Al-Shari'a and Contemporary Reformist Muslim Thought

The Noble Qur’an lays an overwhelming emphasis on reform which is reflected by the recurrent Qur’anic verses declaring that the long chain of prophets was meant to reform their respective nations. The Qur’anic emphasises Islah and repentance but makes it clear that the Qur’an in no way endorses stagnation, it rather strongly encourages dynamism. The message of Islam is contained in the Qur’an and was lived in the best possible form by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself. Muslims continued to reflect on the scriptural sources and devised hermeneutical tools to arrive at the meaning of what is contained in the scriptures. However, in the subsequent period, the closure of the “gate of ijtihad” and the consequent consolidation of blind imitation (Taqlid) resulted in the deterioration of the spirit of reform. Among its multiple consequences is the lack of subjecting the inherited intellectual legacy of the early generations to unbiased revision in order to arrive at a fresh understanding of the scriptures that is in keeping with the demands of existing space and time....