Maslahah as a Source of Islamic Transactions (Muc amalat)

Ijtihad is an important task, and the ability of undertaking it constitutes the main objective of the science of the principles of Islamic jurisprudence (cilm usul al-fiqh). Beside the principles ofjurisprudence, legal maxims (qawacid fiqhiyyah) and purposes of the law (maqasid al-sharicah) lay at the core of its structure. In fact. Islamic law is synonyous with term maslahah, for, it aims at its attainment and the removal of its opposite harm (mafsadah). Recently, maslahah has emerged as an important source of the law and its capacity as such has been acknowledged by many scholars. This is particularly true in the areas of transactions andfinance. Therefore, this paper attempts to examine the status of maslahah as a source of law in Islamic legal framework and deliberate on its conditions and criterion dawabit necessary for such consideration. A few instances of its application in the area of mucamalat (Islamic transactions) are presented to highlight its significance in such capacity