The concept of maqāṣid al-sharī'ah concerns how human behaviour contributes to human well-being. It is a concept that appears to have been overlooked in the practice of Islamic finance as witnessed by the impoverished populations in many Muslim countries. Islamic microfinance is a promising emerging financial system that favours the rural and impoverished populations. While the maqāṣid and Islamic microfinance share development concerns, i.e. to uphold human well-being, the relationship between both has nonetheless been subject to little discussion. Furthermore, many empirical findings maintain that, instead of helping the vulnerable, the application of microfinance has increasingly become harmful to its target clients. Motivated by the goal to enhance human maṣlaḥah, the present study believes that the maqāṣid could improve the application of Islamic microfinance. To this end, it investigates how the maqāṣid are being implemented and the extent to which they have been realised in the Islamic microfinance. Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) has been identified as a case study since the institution presents the distinctive practice of Islamic microfinance. Library research was adopted to develop a framework of how the practice could realise the maqāṣid. Also, semi-structured interviews were conducted with AIM's officials to explore their opinions with regards to the implementation of the maqāṣid. As part of the quantitative strategy, survey questionnaires were addressed to AIM's clients to capture their perceptions of the extent to which the maqāṣid have been realised. The findings indicate that AIM has exerted its best efforts to implement the maqāṣid and that the clients support the premise that the maqāṣid have been realised. Despite the achievements, the findings also reveal several significant issues that should be taken into account. It concludes by offering several recommendations to enhance the workability of maqāṣid and to improve the present practice of Islamic microfinance.