oa An Outline of the Islamic Maqasidi/Purpose-Based Approach

This paper explains the reasoning methodology generally utilized for an Islamic approach to “new” questions in bioethics. It is an approach based on maqasid al-Shariah (sing. maqsid) which are the purposes, objectives, principles, and ends of the Islamic jurisprudence. The paper explains various maqasid definitions, structures, dimensions, and outlines how they are integrated in the Islamic ethical approach. A few examples are introduced, such as: allowing organ transplantation based on the maqsid of preservation of life; placing conditions on IVF based on the maqsid of protecting family and progeny; promoting stem cell research based on the maqsid of promotion of knowledge; and prohibiting cloning based on the maqsid of preservation of the universal law of diversity.