Maslaha

Maslaha or maslahah or maslahat (Arabic: مصلحة, lit. 'benefit, public interest') or Manfa'ah (منفعة, meaning: benefit, gain, advantage or interest), comes from the term "Salihat" (good deeds, also linked to Islah and Istislah), is a concept in Sharia (Islamic divine law) regarded as a basis of law. It forms a part of extended methodological principles of Islamic jurisprudence (uṣūl al-fiqh) and denotes prohibition or permission of something, according to necessity and particular circumstances, on the basis of whether it serves the public interest of the Muslim community (ummah). In principle, maslaha is invoked particularly for issues that are not regulated by the Qur'an, the sunnah (the teachings and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad), or qiyas (analogy). The concept is acknowledged and employed to varying degrees depending on the jurists and schools of Islamic jurisprudence (madhhab). The application of the concept has become more important in modern times because of its increasing relevance to contemporary legal issues. The opposite term of maslaha is mafsada (مفسدة, harm). Islamic politics is itself predicated on maslaha, and is such changeable, as it must respond to the exigencies of time. The term is different from bidah.