MORAL IDEAL-BASED QUR`AN INTERPRETATION ACCORDING TO SHĀṬIBĪ’S CONCEPT OF MAQĀṢID AL-SHARĪ’AH

Abstract

The interpretation of the Qur`an has been frequently subjected to exploring legal aspects of verses, regardless of their underlying ethical bases. The goals of Islamic doctrines called as maqāṣid al-sharī'ah provide ethical judgements that can be functioned for this sake. Unfortunately, they have been applied just for legal formulation. This article employs Fazlur Rahman’s theory of distinction between legal-specific and moral-ideal of Qur`anic doctrines. This perspective will be used to analyze moral dimensions of Shāṭibī’s maqāṣid. In this article, it will be argued that the moral principles extracted from these goals can be functioned as the paradigm for interpreting the Qur`an. There are two models of moral value-based interpretation that can be developed. The first is ethical-historical interpretation. This interpretation aims to understand the verses of the Qur'an in the light of a historical context as the starting point, not only based on background or reason behind the verse that respond the historical situation, but also based on the moral message extracted from these ends. The second is the ethic-contextual interpretation. It is an interpretation that is projected to respond current issues by applying three interacting sides; present situations, the literary context, and the ideal-moral paradigm drawn from these ends.