The Concept of Benefit and its Impact on the Call to God

Abstract

The research is entitled: the concept of benefit and its impact on the call to God, and it consists of an introduction, a preface, three chapters and a conclusion.                               

The preface focuses on the importance of the recognition of balancing priorities for the preacher, and makes it clear that the legitimate benefit is a cornerstone in what is known as the Jurisprudence of balances, and that it is indispensable for the preacher to know its essence, its means, and its goals.

The first chapter deals with the concept of Benefit and the evidences of its legitimacy, its authority, and its regulations. In addition, it explains the concept of Benefit, and its divisions. Then, it touches on the concept of "Unspecified General Benefit" as one of the types of benefits (that it is the focus of this study). The researcher briefly cites sayings on its authenticity, then tackles the most important parameters that people working in the field of Islamic Da'wah - and indeed the religious field in general - must be acquainted with and apply in relation to the status quo. These regulations include the following factors: that it should be a real benefit not a hypothetical one; that it should be subject to the rulings of Sharia so that it does not contradict with the religious texts or the consensus of the nation; and that it should be general and total. The chapter also addresses in some of its sections rebuttals of the modernists in their materialistic view of the notion of benefit.

The second chapter demonstrates examples of the applications of the Benefit in the era of the Companions, and displays some models where Benefit emerges fully with its considered requirements, such as the collection of the Qur’an by the Companions and the suspension of the theft punishment in the year of the Ramadah (the year of famine).

The third chapter is related to some concepts of Benefit in Islamic Calling and its contemporary applications. It deals with these concepts in connection to facilitation and raising people’s embarrassment, and it gives

examples of upholding Benefit in this aspect, including the disruption of Friday Prayers and gatherings in times of epidemics and pandemics - the Corona epidemic as a model - and also deals with the concept of "Gradation" and "Blocking pretexts" with some examples of applications to be models for the preacher in his approach to the concepts of benefit and how to deal with it.

The conclusion summarizes some of the results and recommendations of the research. Some of its results are: the confirmation of the originality of the application of legitimate benefit in Islamic Sharia, the companions’ reliance on it and their efforts to indorse it when its requirements were available, and stressing on the urgent need of preachers for the knowledge of benefit jurisprudence of and its application in the field of Islamic Da'wah, which seeks to reform the conditions of the Islamic nation, especially in our present time.