The paper explores the role and meaning of maṡlaḣa (social utility) and its possible appropriation in the field of Islamic legal and economic thought, as laid down by various medieval and contemporary Muslim scholars. Questions that are pertinent to the research are the following: how has maṡlaḣa been incorporated in legal reasoning and what kind of meaning does it convey; what type of economic (and/or legal) reading does it presuppose; do ethics, law, and scriptural sources play equally important role as reference in developing the concept in economic terms, are some of the questions that this paper will try to provide answer to. Further, as there is a tendency to believe that Islamic economic thought cannot be equated only with legal and juridical underpinnings, it is pertinent to pose a question if economic ideas have flourished independently from its legal framework. Maṡlaḣa in its capacity has always remained part and parcel of Islamic legal theory, and has been rarely addressed within the frame of economic thought; therefore a new reading is required to deal with the position of economic teachings within Islamic tradition. The paper consists of three sections, whereby the contributions made by Muslim medieval scholars on Islamic economics will be presented. The first chapter provides a historical overview of Islamic law and the concept of maṡlaḣa in relation to the field of Islamic economics, including Abu Hamid al-Ghazali's monumental Iḣya 'ulūm al dīn (Revival of Religious Sciences), which presents a milestone in converging Sufi ethical teachings of Islam in accordance with the legal methodology of Islamic law. The second part aims to discern and examine the economic jurisprudence and

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