Order of Legislation Purposes in Islam and the Standards for their Conflicts

Without any doubt, the act of legislation, without considering the purposes that by their nature, the decree belonged to, is troublemaking and unreasonable. In Islamic law, which is based on wisdom, the “art of purposes” used for explanation of the aims of Islamic principles. Some scholars consider protection of religion, life, wisdom, generation and property as five purposes of legislation while some others also add respectability to this list. However, according to the opinions of a group of scholars, such purposes are inadequate because the list does not include justice, altruism and security. Apart from the type and number of purposes, what is the order of legislation purposes in Islamic law? In case of conflict between such purposes, which one prevails? And, what standards existed for tackling the conflict between the expedient and harmful effects of such purposes? This article tries to answer the aforementioned questions.