06/09/2022
The term muʿāmalāt (lit. dealings) in contemporary Muslim parlance often refers to Sharīʿah compliant transactions and contracts within the sphere of commercial banking. However, study of this term reveals that a semantic shift has occurred in the contemporary mind, and that, historically, muʿāmalāt has referred to a much wider range of human activity beyond commercial transactions and contracts, let along commercial banking.
Lexically, muʿāmalāt is the infinitive noun of the verb ʿāmala yuʿāmilu meaning, in a general sense, to deal with someone. This lexical meaning is intended in the common saying, "al-Dīn al-muʿāmalah", i.e. The way of life [of Islam] is [essentially] dealing [well with others].
Then classical Muslim jurists (fuqahāʾ) coined it as a technical term that signified any human activity whose main objective is the fulfillment of human interests under God (maṣāliḥ al-ʿibād), such as buying, selling, marriage, divorce and government. In this sense, muʿāmalāt comprises of the activity that fulfills the rights of humans under God (ḥuqūq al-ʿibād), as opposed to activities that fulfill God's rights (ḥuqūq Allāh), such as worship, penalties and expiations, whose initial purpose is attaining closeness to God and reward. Muʿāmalāt are activities whose initial purpose is the fulfilment of human interests, even though they can, with a good intention, become an act of worship.
Then contemporary Muslim jurists restricted the signification of the term to rulings that organise how humans deal with wealth, i.e. commercial transactions.
To summarise, the term muʿāmalāt can refer to four different and related meanings:
1) Dealing with others in a general sense
2) Human activity whose main objective is the fulfillment of human interests under God including activities such as buying, selling and government
3) Rulings that organise how humans deal with wealth
4) Sharīʿah compliant transactions and contracts within the sphere of commercial banking
At this juncture, it would be prudent to analyse the progressive specificity of the term's semantics in light of social, economic, political factors.
Reference:
Salah Abulhajj, Badīʿ al-Furūʿ Fī Aḥkām al-Buyūʿ (Dār al-Fārūq).
