The 2nd International Conference on Maqasid Al-Waḥy and the Future of Interdisciplinary Scientific Research (2nd MAFIS) was held successfully on August 26-27, 2026, conducted virtually via Zoom. The conference was organized by the Maqasid Institute, Research Synergy Foundation, and the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation, International Islamic University Malaysia (ISTAC-IIUM).
MAFIS is an annual academic conference carrying the theme "Operationalising Tawhidic Teleological Methodologies for the Islamic Human-Acquired Sciences." Building on the foundation of the inaugural 2025 conference, MAFIS 2026 focused on moving from theoretical discourse to operational research methodologies, addressing the gap in developing and demonstrating research methods, including problem formulation, design, data interpretation, and validity criteria, that are explicitly shaped by Tawhidic principles and the higher purposes of Revelation.
The conference aimed to break new ground by shifting from "debating frameworks" to "operationalising methodologies," showcasing how Islamic research grounded in Revelation can produce actionable, purpose-driven scholarship for real-world applications in the human-acquired sciences.
The 2nd MAFIS successfully gathered speakers, presenters, scientific reviewers, session chairs, and participants from more than 24 countries around the globe, such as Indonesia, the United States, the Philippines, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Turkey, China, Switzerland, Australia, Jordan, Canada, Belgium, and the Maldives.
In the session. With the list of presenters and research titles:
| Track Islamic Education | ||
| Paper ID | Presenter | Paper Title |
| MAF26132 | Heba Abdelgawad | Toward Proposed Criteria for Evaluating the Consistency of the General Educational Objectives of Curricula with the Quranic Approach |
| MAF26119 | Hamidah Binti Mat | Integrating MaqāṣId Al-WaḥY and Digital Pedagogy: A Validated Framework for Zakat Online Courseware |
| MAF26131 | Nor Hanani Ismail | Operationalising Maqasid Al-Wahy Through Interdisciplinary Curriculum Design: The Aslim Experience in Developing Future Shariah Practitioners |
| Track Quranic Studies | ||
| Paper ID | Presenter | Paper Title |
| MAF26115 | Ali Acar | The Necessity For Maqasıd In The Science of Tafsir |
| MAF26107 | Sheikh Islam | How Does God Mean Through a Parable? Rhetorical NaẓM and Philosophical MaṣlaḥAh as Divergent Epistemologies of Divine BayāN in Ottoman and Mughal QurʾāNic Hermeneutics |
| Track Islamic Law | ||
| Paper ID | Presenter | Paper Title |
| MAF26114 | Emine Bal Dereli | Beyond Utilitarianism: A Historical Analysis of Maqāṣid al-Sharia as a Functional Methodology for Contemporary Sciences |
| MAF26117 | Muhammad Mehmood | Operationalising Tawhidic Perspectives to Bridge the Epistemological Gap in Counter-Terrorism Financing: A Comparative Analysis of Pakistan and Malaysia |
| Track Islamic Studies | ||
| Paper ID | Presenter | Paper Title |
| MAF26105 | Emad Mohamed Abdallah | Tawheed: Its Concept and Manifestations in the Jurisprudence of Spiritual Purification |
Track Islamic Education
Presenter: Heba Abdelgawad
Paper Title: Toward Proposed Criteria for Evaluating the Consistency of the General Educational Objectives of Curricula with the Quranic Approach
List of Questions:
- Muhammad Imran: "As you mentioned that the 11 criteria are currently qualitative, what practical challenges do you foresee when trying to convert these indicators into measurable quantitative scales for curriculum evaluation?"
- Md Atif Ali: "What is the criteria of interpretation of ayah which are biased on jihaad like in surah Taubah, in current scenario?"
- Najamuddin Nasuhan: "How is this theological concept translated by young people into concrete social actions, such as interfaith volunteering, anti-hoax campaigns, or community service?"
Presenter: Hamidah Binti Mat
Paper Title: Integrating Maqāṣid Al-Waḥy and Digital Pedagogy: A Validated Framework for Zakat Online Courseware
List of Questions:
- Yedi Purwanto: "According to al-Ghazali, the knowledge that must be prioritized is Tawhidullah, followed by Sharia and Haqiqah. What is your opinion on this?"
- Ahmad Musonnif: "Digital zakat education is very important, but how to regulate platforms that may be illegal, since many claim to be zakat managers on the internet?"
- Samiullah Memon: "Can you please enlighten your views on stock exchange of any company. Is it halal? Because every Muslim country has their own stock exchange companies."
- Muhammad Imran: "You highlighted the problem of 'Fragmented Pedagogy' in Zakat education. How does your validated framework practically integrate all 3 dimensions into one module? Could you share one example from your Zakat Online Courseware?"
- Mohammed Muneer'deen Olodo Al-Shafi'i: "How do we ensure practical dissemination of these findings to the common people who are actually involved but not necessarily in academics?"
- Md Atif Ali: "After this Zakat online course is developed and implemented, how will they digitally identify the people who are eligible or not?"
- Hafiz Muhammad Umar Farooq: "How does your courseware use digital pedagogy to teach learners about the transition of Zakat recipients (Asnaf) into self-sufficient Zakat payers (Muzakki)? Are there specific interactive models used for this?"
- Hafiz Muhammad Umar Farooq: "In addressing 'Fragmented Pedagogy,' what was the biggest challenge your research faced when trying to weave Fiqh and social ethics into a single digital lesson, and how did you overcome it?"
Presenter: Nor Hanani Ismail
Paper Title: Operationalising Maqasid Al-Wahy Through Interdisciplinary Curriculum Design: The Aslim Experience in Developing Future Shariah Practitioners
List of Questions:
- Ahmad Musonnif: "In the Aslim experience, how do you balance the preservation of traditional Shariah sciences with the integration of modern disciplines such as technology, economics, and social sciences?"
- Muhammad Imran: "You mentioned the need for complementary competencies like Islamic Finance, Media, and Digital Technology for Shariah practitioners. How is UUM ensuring that graduates of the ASLIM program are actually assessed and certified in these complementary skills, not just Shariah knowledge?"
- Ahmad Hamdalah: "How do we transform Maqasid al-Wahy from a merely abstract theological framework into quantitative metrics and regulatory algorithms capable of addressing future technological disruptions (such as AI and bioethics) without losing the spiritual essence of Sharia?"
- Dr. Albert Younas (UZH): "Could you please share information about the career prospects for graduates of this degree, especially in Western countries? I would also like to know about opportunities in GCC nations."
- Hafiz Muhammad Umar Farooq: "What was the biggest challenge your team faced when trying to balance traditional Shariah knowledge with modern secular disciplines in the ASLIM curriculum, and how did you resolve it?"
Track Quranic Studies
Presenter: Ali Acar
Paper Title: The Necessity For Maqasid In The Science of Tafsir
List of Questions:
- Muhammad Imran: "In today's context where many Muslims face social, economic and ethical challenges, how can contemporary Mufassirun use Maqasid Al-Shariah to address modern issues like AI, bioethics, and financial systems in their Tafsir?"
- Yedi Purwanto: "What is the difference between maqasid tafsir and maqasid sharia?"
- Athiah Kholilatul Ummi: "How can a contemporary mufassir effectively implement maqasid methodology to interpret scientific and ecological verses in the Quran without losing the traditional framework of classical tafsir?"
- Hb Nabiel Almusawa: "Maqashid sharia has been accepted and there are special departments in various universities, on the other hand maqashid tafsir are not so well known — can you mention how many studies like this you have done?"
- Najamuddin Nasuhan: "From a sociology of religion perspective, what social and political conditions in the 2nd-3rd centuries AH made 'the objectives of tafsir' become important? Was it linked to the need for communal stability after Islamic expansion?"
- Rumaisa Tariq: "Is maqasid shariah considered a tool within tafsir, or a separate framework we apply after tafsir?"
Presenter: Sheikh Islam
Paper Title: How Does God Mean Through a Parable? Rhetorical Naẓm and Philosophical Maṣlaḥah as Divergent Epistemologies of Divine Bayān in Ottoman and Mughal Qurʾānic Hermeneutics
List of Questions:
- Hafiz Muhammad Umar Farooq: "Could you elaborate on how the Mughal and Ottoman scholars differed in their practical application of these two epistemologies when interpreting the same parable?"
- Hafiz Muhammad Umar Farooq: "How can understanding the divergence between Naẓm and Maṣlaḥah in historical Ottoman and Mughal hermeneutics help modern scholars resolve contemporary debates on reading Quranic parables?"
- Athiah Kholilatul Ummi: "From your research perspective, how can we use maqasid and rhetorical tools to extract deeper holistic healing and ecological lessons from parables of nature in the Quran, such as the example of the bee in Surah An-Nahl?"
- Md Atif Ali: "How do these schools of thought impact an individual's daily life, and how can we derive an easy way to express these?"
- Najamuddin Nasuhan: "This slide shows us that even within a single tradition, there are two equally valid ways of reading. How do these two ways of reading manifest in our society? Do they divide us, or can they actually teach us how to live with differences under the same roof?"
Track Islamic Law
Presenter: Emine Bal Dereli
Paper Title: Beyond Utilitarianism: A Historical Analysis of Maqāṣid al-Sharia as a Functional Methodology for Contemporary Sciences
List of Questions:
- Madelle Conales: "How can Maqāṣid strengthen the relevance of Tafsīr to contemporary issues without compromising the original meaning and context of the Qur'anic text?"
- Muhammad Imran: "You mentioned that Maqasid became central due to expansion into new fields. How can we operationalise 'Maqasid al-Wahy' as an evaluative framework in Pakistan's education system and policy making, especially to go beyond utilitarian approaches in economics and social sciences?"
- Hafiz Muhammad Umar Farooq: "While Western utilitarianism looks purely at maximizing pleasure or material benefit, how does Maqāṣid al-Sharia provide a superior moral baseline for contemporary sciences by anchoring human welfare (Maslahah) in spiritual and divine values?"
- Najamuddin Nasuhan: "If maqāṣid aims at human benefit, how can maqāṣid be used as a common language for interfaith dialogue in Indonesia? What are examples of good practice?"
- Rumaisa Tariq: "What's the biggest difference between maqāṣid-based reasoning and utilitarianism in solving modern scientific problems?"
Presenter: Muhammad Mehmood
Paper Title: Operationalising Tawhidic Perspectives to Bridge the Epistemological Gap in Counter-Terrorism Financing: A Comparative Analysis of Pakistan and Malaysia
List of Questions:
- Muhammad Imran: "In your 'Framework of Qualitative Assessment' you mentioned Pakistan's data. What specific steps can Pakistan take to bridge the 'Policy-Practice Decoupling' gap in CFT implementation?"
Track Islamic Studies
Presenter: Emad Mohamed Abdallah
Paper Title: Tawheed: Its Concept and Manifestations in the Jurisprudence of Spiritual Purification
List of Questions:
- Najamuddin Nasuhan: "What role can Islamic scholars, religious leaders, and faith-based organizations play in bridging the gap between 'formal compliance' and 'everyday practice' so that policies become socially meaningful — particularly in maintaining social harmony?"
- Muhammad Imran (also submitted in Arabic): "In today's world where Muslims face anxiety, depression and materialism, how can the concept of Tawheed be practically applied in tazkiyah to achieve true inner peace and spiritual purification?"
- Dr. Mubarak Abiodun Yusuff (in Arabic): Asked whether all branches of Shariah rely for their validity on the science of Tawheed as stated, or rather on the "spirit" of Tawheed noting that many people pray without knowing the details of the science of Tawheed, yet their prayer is still valid, suggesting the spirit of Tawheed (lā ilāha illā Allāh, Muḥammad rasūl Allāh) is more fundamental than the formal science itself.
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