Entertainment and the Arts in Malaysia: Maqasid Shariah as an Indicator

Entertainment and the arts are intrinsically linked and have long been subjects of scholarly discourse, particularly among Islamic jurists, due to various issues associated with their practice and consumption. Maqasid Shariah, which refers to the objectives or higher intents of Islamic law, provides a valuable framework for assessing these domains. This study aims to explore the potential of Maqasid Shariah as an evaluative indicator in the assessment of entertainment and the arts within the Malaysian context. Adopting a qualitative approach, this research is grounded in library-based methods and utilizes content analysis to examine contemporary and classical scholarly perspectives on issues surrounding artistic and entertainment expressions. Given that the original ruling (hukm asal) of entertainment and the arts is one of permissibility (harus), this study underscores the importance of employing Maqasid Shariah as a guiding principle. It argues that Maqasid Shariah should be recognized as a critical indicator for determining the Shariah compliance or non-compliance of entertainment and artistic activities. By doing so, this research contributes to the development of a more structured and principled framework for evaluating the ethical and religious dimensions of cultural expressions in a pluralistic society.