---
title: "What is Maqasid al-Shariah? | IslamicOpenFinance™"
description: "The objectives of Shariah: protecting people's interests and averting harm, used to guide how rules are applied."
url: https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/maqasid-al-shariah/
lang: en-GB
source: "IslamicOpenFinance"
---

[Glossary](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/) / [Shariah fundamentals](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/#fundamentals)

Shariah fundamentals

# Maqasid al-Shariah

The objectives of Shariah: protecting people's interests and averting harm, used to guide how rules are applied.

Maqasid al-Shariah are the higher objectives that Shariah rules are understood to serve. IFSB-30 defines them as the fundamental principles of Shariah, which aim to promote and protect the interests of all human beings and avert harm that impairs those interests. Scholars commonly group them as the protection of faith, life, intellect, lineage and wealth. In finance the concept is invoked to ask whether a product serves its real purpose, not only whether its form is permitted.

## Sources

- [IFSB-30 Revised Guiding Principles on Corporate Governance for IIFS (Banking Segment), 2023: Definitions, Maqasid al-Shariah](https://www.ifsb.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/IFSB-30-Revised-Guiding-Principles-on-Corporate-Governance-for-IIFS.pdf)

This entry explains a term; it is not a Shariah ruling. Approving a product is for each institution's own Shariah board and regulator.

## Related terms

[**Shariah** Islamic law and its principles; in finance, the rules that contracts, products and institutions are expected to comply with.](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/shariah/) [**Fiqh al-muamalat** The branch of Islamic jurisprudence that governs commercial and financial dealings between people.](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/fiqh-al-muamalat/) [**Islamic deposit insurance** A deposit protection scheme designed on Islamic lines to protect depositors of Islamic banks if a bank fails.](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/islamic-deposit-insurance/)

**Shariah fundamentals**

1. [Riba](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/riba/)
2. [Gharar](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/gharar/)
3. [Maysir](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/maysir/)
4. [Shariah](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/shariah/)
5. [Fiqh al-muamalat](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/fiqh-al-muamalat/)
6. [Riba al-nasiah](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/riba-al-nasiah/)
7. [Riba al-fadl](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/riba-al-fadl/)
8. [Al-ghunm bil-ghurm](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/al-ghunm-bil-ghurm/)

[All 221 terms](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/)