The Origin of Maslaha (Public Interest) in Contemporary Islamic Political Thought: From the Preservation of Order to the Engineering of Strategic Decision-Making

Abstract

Title: The Principle of Maslaha in Contemporary Islamic Political Thought: From Maintaining Order to Strategic Decision Engineering

This study explores the transformation of the principle of Maslaha (public interest) in contemporary Islamic political thought—from a juristic notion concerned with maintaining social order to a foundational principle guiding strategic decision-making within modern Islamic governance and resistance movements.
By comparing the Sunni conceptualization of Maslaha (as developed by al-Ghazali, al-Shatibi, and Ibn Ashur) with the Shi‘i reinterpretation through Hifz al-Nizam (preservation of order) and Wilayat al-Faqih, the paper demonstrates how Shi‘i thought institutionalized Maslaha as a rational and strategic framework of governance.
It further analyzes how this evolved framework was operationalized by Hezbollah, where Maslaha functions as the moral and strategic axis balancing the triad of Dignity (ʿIzza), Wisdom (Hikma), and Interest (Maslaha) in political and military decisions.
The study concludes that Maslaha has become the operative logic of Islamic political rationality—bridging moral commitment and political realism in contemporary strategic contexts.