Yasir Qadhi – Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness in the Maqasid Al-Shari’ah

Yasir QadhiJanuary 14, 201072 min0 comments

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Comparative Law Islamic Law Maqasid al-Shari'ah History of Islam Fiqh Islamic Philosophy Human Rights Muslims in the West

About this lecture

In this lecture, Shaykh Yasir Qadhi explores the concept of Maqasid al-Shari'ah — the higher objectives of Islamic law — and presents a compelling argument that Islamic legal philosophy played a significant role in shaping Western concepts of rights, including the "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness" enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. A second speaker then traces the historical development of Maqasid through the centuries, from the time of the Sahaba to contemporary Muslim minorities in the West, emphasizing that the ultimate objective of all Islamic law is al-ubudiyyah — servitude to Allah.

Shaykh Dr. Yasir Qadhi is one of the most influential Islamic scholars and intellectuals in the Western world. Born in Houston to Pakistani parents, he earned a degree in chemical engineering before studying for ten years at the Islamic University of Madinah, where he completed degrees in hadith and Islamic theology, and later earned a PhD in Religious Studies from Yale University. He served for years as Dean of Academic Affairs at AlMaghrib Institute, taught at Rhodes College in Memphis, and now serves as Dean of the Islamic Seminary of America and resident scholar of the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC) in Texas. His lecture series on the seerah, "Lives of the Sahaba," and Islamic theology are among the most comprehensive in the English language.

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