In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Very Merciful.
All praise belongs to Allah, who has prescribed for His servants the rulings that secure what is right and has turned them away from the paths of error and corruption. Blessings and peace be upon the one sent as a mercy to humankind, and upon his family and companions—people of insight and right guidance.
To proceed:
Studying the objectives of the Shariah, discerning Allah’s wise purposes in His rulings, and uncovering the secrets within His commands and prohibitions are among the most beneficial and exalted branches of knowledge. The reason is that every legal ruling, whether foundational or subsidiary, is grounded in safeguarding people’s interests in this world and the next.
Perceiving these divine secrets and reflecting on them is like discovering precious treasures: it deepens the believer’s faith in his Lord, heightens his eagerness to live by the revealed law—by obeying its commands and avoiding its prohibitions—lightens the burden of worship, assists him in steering clear of sin, and strengthens his trust in his Lord, Glorified and Exalted. When a believer understands the law and attains the knowledge and certainty that Allah commands only what benefits His creation and forbids only what harms them in this life and the Hereafter, all of these effects follow.
Accordingly, after reading the valuable work al-Muwāfaqāt by Imām al-Shāṭibī—a book and an author who need no commendation or introduction—and after completing most of its chapters, I sought Allah’s guidance to extract from it a concise treatment of the objectives of the Shariah and place it as a preface to my commentary on Bulūgh al-Marām, making it the fourth of the three prolegomena that form the foundations of the Islamic sciences. This is indeed a major root and a noble science, to which the Qur’an and Sunnah refer in passages too numerous to count.
Among them are the Almighty’s words: “A Book We have sent down to you so that, by their Lord’s permission, you may bring mankind out of darkness into light” [Ibrāhīm: 1]; His words: “We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds” (107) [al-Anbiyāʾ: 107]; and His words: “Allah does not intend to place you in hardship; rather, He intends to purify you…” [al-Māʾidah: 6].