I hope this puts into perspective what AAOIFI is and is not. I would highlight one important item, AAOIFI uses the word “Sharia” to describe their standard. Please judge the accuracy of this statement after reading the below.
Do you agree AAOIFI is Sharia…share your reasoning?
source: An Introduction to Islamic Law · European Journal of Law Reform · Eleven Journals’%20(Consensus%20of%20Scholars),the%20Quran%20and%20the%20Sunnah.
Sharia
“the sum of legal rules that God has legislated and sent to the people through Prophet Muhammad (P). Sharia, thus is incorporated in the Quran (the Holy book of Islam) and the Sunnah (actions and saying of Prophet Muhammad (P) .”17 The legislative process of Islamic Law took place only during the life of Muhammad (P) and ended with his death since only he was allowed to legislate because he was divinely inspired , or directly inspired by God. Thus, the sources of Islamic Legislation or Sharia are only the Quran and Sunnah. Any scholarly opinions or rules provided by the companions or followers of Muhammad (P) are, therefore, not part of legislation but merely attempts to understand and apply the law.
VS
Istihsan (Juristic Preference)
Istihsan literally means to prefer the better option. It is another technique by which scholars deduce new rules to face new situations that were not covered by the Quran, Sunnah or Ijma.
Istihsan seeks fairness and equity. To use Istihsan is to “ignore the rule derived from Qiyas.”68 In other words, Istihsan leads to the solution that achieves greater equity even though it may contradict a Qiyas-derived rule. This conflict between Qiyas and Istihsan is accepted as long as the decision is made for strong reasons that are otherwise fully in line with the divine and agreed-upon sources of Sharia.
vs
Masaleh Mursala: Literally, Masaleh means interests or benefits and Mursala means free of restrictions. Al Imam Al Ghazali, a very well-respected Islamic scholar, established the doctrine of Masaleh Mursala in an attempt to find solutions to the social, economic, as well as the political problems that arose as the Islamic state grew and developed. Masaleh Mursala refers to all the actions that have neither been permitted nor prohibited by one or more of the agreed-upon sources