Assalamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh, We heard from some of the Dua’aat that the Madhab of Imam Malik is based on two principles; the first is searching for the benefit of people and the second is to make it easy on people. He also said that from the rules of his Madhab is that whenever there is a benefit, the Shari’ah goes along with it, so did Imam Malik truly make these statements? May Allaah reward you with all good.

Wa Alaykum Assalam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh; All praise is for Allaah and peace and blessings upon the Messenger of Allaah, his family, companions and those who are loyal to him. The generality of these statements is absolutely incorrect. On the contrary, these statements (i.e. rules) are restricted by guidelines of the Shari’ah in order to forbid the deduction of rulings based on self-desires and whims, which oppose the Shari’ah of Allaah just to suit the desires of people. Know, may Allaah bestow His mercy upon you and us, that benefit and interest is that which the Wise Legislator established for His slaves in order to preserve their religion, lives, sanity, offspring and wealth, whether the gained benefits are due to dire needs, dire necessities or to improve a situation. None of our scholars and jurists denied any of it, because the Shari’ah only advocates perfect interest and benefit and prevents every corruption. Also, making it easy for the people is a common principle that is agreed on by all scholars and jurists, and how should it not be so when it is one of the aims of our Shari’ah! For indeed, ease and the prevention of hardship are the two main traits in the religion of Islam, and there are many Ayaat in the book of Allaah, the Most High, and many authentic ahadeeth of the Prophet , aside from the agreement of the Ummah, which indicate such principle. From the Qur’an, there is the Ayah, {“He has chosen you, and has imposed no difficulties on you in religion; it is the cult of your father Abraham”}, and the Ayah, {“Allaah desires ease for you, and He does not desire for you difficulty”}, and the Ayah, {“Allaah desires that He should make light your burdens…”}. From the Sunnah, there is the saying of the Prophet , “This religion is ease”, and his saying, “The best of your religion is the easiest of it”, and the saying of our mother Aisha, “Whenever the Prophet  was given the choice he would choose what is easier, so long it is not a sin”. Also, the saying of the Prophet , “You are sent to bring ease and not to bring difficulty”, and his saying, “The most beloved religion to Allaah is the balanced and easy one”. For this reason, jurists have set Fiqh rules in order to guideline the rulings of difficulties, and from these rules is “Hardship brings ease”, which means that a difficulty becomes a reason to make the ruling easier and to expand on it at the time of hardship, and the hardship is considered an important reason for concessions. Based on that, the origin of gained benefit and ease is not a matter of dispute amongst scholars, mind alone the established principle of Maslaha Mursalah, which a conveyed benefit that is expected from a particular matter yet the Shari’ah (texts) did not remark to support or reject [this particular matter]. This type of interest and benefit is accepted in order to bring about a benefit or to prevent harm, and the Shari’ah supports such interest, and it is an benefit that suits some commands of the Shari’ah, such as the fatwa of the companion that a drunk person is punished with the punishment of the one who accuses a chaste believer of a false inappropriate act because a drunk person is most likely to utter such words. Therefore, he was given the position as if he did it, and the Shari’ah likens the acts that are most likely to happen to the act itself, as it happens in many rulings. The Maliki Fiqh is distinguished from the Fiqh of other Madhahib not because it adopts the principle of conveyed interest, but by the excessive use of this principle and using it as a basis for the deduction of rulings. Nonetheless, the (conveyed) interests that Imam Malik relied on are found in the divine texts and not just foreign interests that are acted upon due to personal opinions and rules that are legislated based on whims and sayings of desire. Thus, if we find that some of the scholars of the Maliki Madhab deny that Imam Malik used the principle of conveyed interest, then we need to know that they meant the latter type. One of the proofs that confirm that other Madhahib acted upon the principle of conveyed interest according to its Islamic guideline, and that the Maliki Madhab is distinguished for by depending on it more than others, is what Al-Qurafi said in his book “Tanqeeh Al-Usool”, “As for the principle of conveyed interest, it has been proven in our texts that it is limited to us (i.e. we are distinguished with it), but if you examine other Madhahib, you will find that when they use analogy, or match or distinguish between two issues, they do not request a supportive proof to witness the meaning upon which they matched or differentiated. They are simply satisfied with the definite of an occasion, and that is what conveyed interest is all about; therefore, it exists in all Madhahib”. Al-Qadi Sadrul Shari’ah Al-Hanafi says in “Sharh Al-Talweeh A’la Al-Tawdeeh”, “If the suitability of the act is found, then it is permissible to act upon it, but that is not obligatory according to our Madhab. It is only obligatory when it is effective, and according to some of the Shafi’ee scholars, it is obligatory to act upon the suitability of a matter when this suitability is supported with a proof that acknowledges its basis, that according to some other scholars happens so long it is expected. All of that is called conveyed interest, which means the cause of criterions that could be recognized just by imagining the case.” And Allaah, the Most High, knows best.