Maqasid Evidence-and-Welfare Decision Guide

1. Set up an evidence-and-welfare decision record

Choose one manageable question from home, study, a community project or a fictional case. Write the question neutrally. “How can we increase attendance at family reading?” is more useful than “Why is everybody refusing beneficial learning?” because it does not begin by assigning motive or blame.

Create six fields: the good being sought; the proposed action; people and rights affected; revealed evidence; named scholarly explanation; and facts still missing. Add a final field called “my limit.” That field might say “needs a qualified religious answer,” “needs medical advice,” “requires safeguarding action,” or “can be handled as an ordinary scheduling decision.”

The International Islamic Fiqh Academy’s Resolution 167 (5/18) defines maqāṣid through ends and wisdoms connected to interests in this world and the Hereafter. It also states that proper application does not counteract the implications of Shariah texts and consensus-based rulings. Record this as an institutional scholarly explanation, not Qur’an and not an automatic answer to your case.

The diagram is a study aid. A completed form shows organised thinking, not permission, legal validity or specialist approval.

2. Anchor every claimed benefit in worship

Qur’an 51:56 identifies worship of اللّٰه (ALLAH) as the purpose for which jinn and human beings were created. In the first field, ask how the proposed good remains connected to obedience rather than competing with it. Do not describe اللّٰه (ALLAH) as needing creation’s worship; the following verses reject that idea.

Qur’an 2:183 prescribes fasting and states the hoped-for attainment of taqwā. Record a revealed purpose only where the source actually states or clearly supports it. Then preserve the worship itself. “Fasting is connected with taqwā” does not mean any difficult activity can be renamed fasting or substituted for it.

Sahih al-Bukhari 1 makes intention morally significant. Put the learner’s stated intention in the record, but do not claim access to another person’s heart. Evaluate the outward proposal separately. A sincere organiser can still choose an inaccurate message or an unsafe method and then correct it.

Sahih Muslim 2699a encourages relief of hardship, help for someone in difficulty and seeking knowledge. Record the help intended and who defines the need. Do not promise that a chosen project will receive a particular worldly result or use concealment language to hide abuse, risk or wrongdoing.

Worked example: a group wants to provide free books. The good sought is accessible learning. The proposed action is an appeal. Worship and service remain connected when the appeal is truthful, privacy is protected and the books are appropriate. Inflating the number already donated corrupts the method without making the good aim worthless.

3. Examine religion, life and intellect without overreach

Qur’an 2:256 states that there is no compulsion in religion, then speaks of guidance, rejection of false objects of worship and belief in اللّٰه (ALLAH). In the people-and-rights field, ask whether a proposal depends on humiliation, forced profession or pressure that prevents a genuine question. Teaching clearly is not the same as coercion.

Qur’an 5:91 names hostility, hatred, hindrance from remembrance and hindrance from prayer among the harms connected with intoxicants and gambling. Record the harms named in the verse before adding a scholarly classification such as protection of intellect.

Sahih al-Bukhari 5199 preserves rights of body, eyes and wife in the context of Abdullah ibn Amr’s continual fasting and night prayer. If a proposed programme creates exhaustion or neglect, record who is affected. Do not turn the report into a diagnosis or permission to alter obligatory worship independently.

Sahih Muslim 35b places the declaration of Tawheed at the highest end of faith’s branches and removal of harm from a path among its humbler branches. For a safe community task, identify the hazard and the competent person to address it. A child reports broken glass or traffic danger; the child does not handle it.

Worked example: a centre wants a late-night youth programme. Benefits may include learning and friendship. Missing facts include safe transport, supervision, age, sleep and family responsibilities. This page cannot decide the final schedule from the word “benefit” alone.

4. Protect family dignity and property through accurate terms

Qur’an 30:21 presents spouses, comfort or tranquillity, affection and mercy as signs. Record how a proposal might support mercy, but do not write a verdict about a particular marriage. A family-learning activity must never require a child to reveal abuse, separation or private arguments.

Qur’an 4:29 prohibits wrongful consumption of wealth and mentions trade by mutual consent. Record ownership, consent, known terms and people affected. The complete verse also carries serious life-and-mercy wording; the resource does not truncate it into a commercial motto.

Sahih al-Bukhari 2079 connects truth and disclosure with blessing in the narrated buyer-and-seller setting. If the action involves an appeal, exchange or sale, ask what a reasonable participant needs to know. Separate goods already received, promised goods and a future target.

Worked example: forty books are collected and forty are promised. “Eighty received” is inaccurate. “Forty received and forty pledged; help us reach eighty received books” preserves the aim and the distinction. The example teaches reporting; it does not settle a real contract dispute.

Add a privacy line. Name only the information necessary for the decision and obtain appropriate permission. A compelling fundraising story does not entitle an organiser to publish a family’s identity, medical information or images.

5. Test knowledge claims and refer disagreement properly

Qur’an 17:36 warns against following what one has no knowledge of and connects hearing, sight and heart or intellect with accountability. In the facts field, divide entries into verified, reported but unchecked, disputed and unknown. A confident tone does not move a claim into the verified column.

Qur’an 4:59 directs disagreement back to اللّٰه (ALLAH) and the Messenger. In the evidence field, list the relevant verse or authenticated report rather than a slogan. Then note whether understanding or application needs Arabic knowledge, wider context, specialised facts or qualified legal reasoning.

Sahih Muslim 102 reports hidden wet food and the Prophetic warning against deception. In the proposed-action field, ask what a participant would wrongly believe if important information remained concealed. A good destination for funds does not make a false total, hidden fee or misleading description acceptable.

Prepare an expert question with five parts: the actual action; the good sought; evidence already found; people and rights affected; and unresolved facts. Include details that might count against the answer you prefer. Do not ask a child to carry a high-stakes question on behalf of adults.

Worked example: a reading session change may improve attendance for some carers while excluding others. Collect availability, supervision and room facts. A trial, second session or different time may be practical options. None is declared religiously required merely because it serves a benefit.

6. Review, assign and teach the method by age

Review the record in this order. First, is the stated good actually supported or merely asserted? Second, does the source say what the note claims? Third, are translation, explanation and application labelled? Fourth, are affected people represented accurately? Fifth, is the method truthful and safe? Sixth, has the learner stopped where competence ends?

Use a traffic-light review without relying on colour alone. Mark “ready to act” only for a low-risk practical step whose facts and authority are clear. Mark “gather more information” where people, costs or consequences remain uncertain. Mark “refer” where worship, rights, personal safety, medicine or a disputed religious ruling exceeds the learner’s competence. Write the words as well as using any visual mark.

Test the method with a fictional community kitchen. The good sought is feeding people. A proposed action is publishing a list of recipients and their circumstances to encourage donations. The evidence-and-welfare record should notice that a good aim does not remove dignity and privacy concerns. Safer options may include aggregated numbers, consented stories or a transparent needs statement without names. The guide does not decide every data-protection or charity-law requirement.

Now test a different kind of case. A learner wants to fast extra days but is worried about a health condition. The record may identify worship, intention and relevant Prophetic guidance, but it must also mark the medical facts as outside a general webpage. The proper next step includes qualified medical advice and reliable religious guidance based on the person’s real circumstances. The learner should not copy another person’s answer without checking whether the facts match.

Ages 5–7: use pictures of books, a safe pathway and a truthful label. Ask “What are we trying to help?” and “Are our words true?” Ages 8–11: fill good, action and alternative. Ages 12–15: add source type, missing facts and people affected. Ages 16 and above: add institutional explanation, competing options and an expert question.

Adults should read ahead, remove private details and avoid turning the exercise into judgement of relatives. Accept oral, audio or assisted responses. Arabic recognition and recitation require appropriate teaching; completing this guide does not certify either.

When assigning the guide, specify one fictional or low-risk case and an achievable deadline. Feedback should praise accurate distinctions: “You separated the verse from the scenario,” “You found a missing fact,” or “You recognised where expert help is needed.” Do not reward certainty when the evidence supports uncertainty.

Keep a change log. If stronger evidence changes a sentence, record the date, earlier wording, new source and correction. Transparency teaches that submission to truth matters more than defending an old worksheet.

Invite a second learner or responsible adult to inspect one row without showing private information. Ask them to locate the source, identify which sentence is interpretation and name one fact that would change the practical recommendation. A useful peer review finds a precise weakness or confirms a precise boundary; it is not a vote on revelation and does not replace specialist advice.

Completion means the learner reached the end and used the source-led method. It does not certify a fatwa, legal decision, safeguarding assessment or medical judgement. Complete both mastery checks, save this guide to the learning dashboard, or return to the course.