The role of legal maxims in solving modern fiqh problems(the muʿāmalāt section)

The scientific, technological, economic, and cultural developments of the modern era have given rise to numerous new issues that have no direct equivalent in the classical fiqh literature. This study examines the role of legal maxims (kullī qawāʿid) in resolving contemporary fiqh problems within the scope of muʿāmalāt, providing a comprehensive analysis of their theoretical and practical functionality. Interest-based transactions, types of insurance, investment funds, digital contracts, piracy of intellectual and artistic works, the cost of returning borrowed goods, organized tawarruq, the use of POS devices, inflation differences, severance pay, traffic accidents, and online shopping are among the primary fiqh issues of the modern period. The study explores how maxims such as "Harm must be eliminated" (al-ḍarar yuzāl), "Custom is authoritative" (al-ʿādah muḥakkamah), "In contracts, consideration is given to purposes and meanings, not to words and forms" (al-ʿibrah fī l-ʿuqūd li-l-maqāṣid wa-l-maʿānī lā li-l-alfāẓ wa-l-mabānī), "Necessities permit prohibitions" (al-ḍarūrāt tubīḥ al-maḥẓūrāt), "Preventing harm takes precedence over procuring benefit" (darʾ al-mafāsid awlā min jalb al-maṣāliḥ), and "To avert public harm, private harm may be tolerated" (yuḥtamal al-ḍarar al-khāṣ li-dafʿ al-ḍarar al-ʿāmm) become functional through case studies and contemporary applications. Furthermore, the thesis evaluates how modern fiqh issues are addressed within historicist, traditionalist, contemporary Salafī, academic, and maqāṣid-oriented approaches, while also discussing whether the institution of ijtihād needs to be revitalized. The importance of both individual and institutional fatwā activities is emphasized, with examples such as the High Council of Religious Affairs (Turkey), the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, and the European Council for Fatwa and Research. The historical development of legal maxims, their position in both classical and modern fiqh, and particularly their application in the Majallat al-Aḥkām al-ʿAdliyyah, are also examined, demonstrating that these maxims are not merely theoretical but also possess a systematic and institutional character capable of transforming into binding legal texts. In conclusion, this study reveals that legal maxims constitute a dynamic, universal, and sustainable fiqh-based tool for addressing contemporary issues, showing that Islamic law continues to be a comprehensive system that maintains its vitality in the modern world. While these maxims generally serve as supportive principles in resolving issues, some researchers have treated them as primary evidence to derive direct rulings.