Preventing Harm (Dar’ al-Mafsadah) in Financial Transactions: A Maqāṣid-Based Approach to Protecting the Financial System in the Ḥadīths of Sunan Abī Dāwūd

Abstract

This research examines the principle of preventing harm in financial transactions through the transactional traditions recorded in the Sunan Abī Dāwūd, considering it one of the major objectives of Islamic law that contributes to the protection of wealth, preservation of rights, and maintenance of financial stability. The significance of the study stems from contemporary financial challenges and the need to highlight the Sharīʿah foundations that prevent corruption and instability in markets. The study seeks to answer the following question: How does the Prophetic Sunnah manifest the principle of preventing financial harm, and what is its role in safeguarding the financial system and ensuring transactional stability? The research aims to establish the jurisprudential and maqāṣid-based foundations of this principle through an analysis of the relevant Ḥadīths concerning the protection of property rights, the prohibition of harmful financial practices, and the regulation of financial relations. Employing an inductive and analytical methodology, the study concludes that the Ḥadīths of Sunan Abī Dāwūd provide a comprehensive preventive framework for protecting wealth, prohibiting usury, excessive uncertainty, fraud, and monopolistic practices, while also establishing mechanisms for resolving disputes and addressing financial disruptions in a manner that promotes justice, trust, and stability in financial transactions.