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Essay on ijtihad
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CHAP 03 IJTIHADINTRODUCTION:
Ijtihad literally means striving, or self-exertion in any activity which entails a
measure of hardship.
Employment by a jurist of his own mental faculties to find a solution to a
case from the totality of law; careful opinion formed by somebody learned in
the law based on his comprehensive understanding of the main sources.
Ijtihad is a jurist's whole endeavour to derive Shari'ah rulings from specified
sources with a degree of likelihood.
Jurists use "ijtihad" to construct legal principles from source data. The
definition of ijtihad emphasises that an undertaking demands full effort.
Bernard Weiss
Another key concept of ijtihad is that the jurist must work until he or she can
no longer. If a jurist can't discover the proof, his opinion is invalid. In Kamali
Ijtihad is similar to Western "interpretation."
Ijtihad is the most important source of Islamic law after the Qur'an and the
Sunnah. Unlike divine revelation and prophetic law, ijtihad is dynamic.
After the Qur'an and Sunnah, which were abandoned after the Prophet's
death, ijtihad is Islamic law's main source.
Muslim jurists' legitimacy comes from God's authority alone and is character-
dependent. People don't take their statements at face value; their authority
comes from their inherent legitimacy.
Ijtihad does not allow extracting a decision from a plain text using an
inference (istinbat) that is equivalent to a probability (zann) or finding a
hukm by researching the relevant literature or questioning an expert without
using one's own judgement and opinion.
Taqlid, or imitation, is accepting a rule based on the authority of other
jurists rather than direct proof from the sources. The decisive Shari'ah rules
impart positive knowledge, so they are excluded from ijtihad.
Ijtihad's hypothesis means that the answer is likely true, but it might be
wrong. Zann is different from 'ilm, which denotes positive knowledge.
Ijtihad is about Shari'ah's practical laws, which govern the behaviour of
individuals to whom they apply.
Thus, ijtihad is banned when discussing subjects like if the cosmos is
founded, if a Creator exists, whether prophets are sent, etc. There is only
one proper response to these questions, and everyone who disagrees is
wrong.
Ijtihad clearly states that only jurists, or faqih, can undertake it.
, The ijtihad criteria, which must be met to become a mujtahid, require the
mujtahid to be a faqih, so a layperson cannot infer ahkam.
Ijtihad Value (Hukm): The usul ulema agree that the mujtahid must follow
his own ijtihad since he considers it as a divine mandate.
According to al-Hashr (59:2), the Qur'anic injunction encourages everyone
with power and understanding to use their influence for justice and truth.
Surah al-Nisa' (4:59) declares that God and His Messenger will settle all
disagreements, supporting this conclusion.
These and other Qur'an ayat show that the knowledgeable must study and
explore the Qur'an and the Prophet's teachings.
The Companions' precedent on this matter led to the legal maxim, "ijtihad
may not be overruled by its equivalent" (Hazrat Umar considered ra'y to be
equivalent, even if different Companions reached different conclusions,
unless doing so would explicitly violate the Quran or Sunnah; he reached
different conclusions in two cases pertaining to the same issue, but he did
not modify the earlier.
The proof(Hujjiyah)Ijtihad:
Reason (aql), the Qur'an, and the Sunnah support ijtihad.
• The Sunnah offers more detailed justification for ijtihad than the other two.
Muadh b. Jabal's Hadith gives ijtihad definite authority. Muadh informed the
Prophet (pbuh) that he would practise ra'y or ijtihad in non-Quranic topics,
which the Prophet approved of.
The ummah has embraced and relied on this hadith, so Ghazali rejects the
claim that it is mursal—that is, that its chain of transmission breaks when the
companion who heard it from the Prophet is omitted.
Hadith states, "Aim high and make an effort, (ijtahidu), for each person is
meant to fulfil their purpose for which they were created." Sura al-Tawbah
(9:122) states, "Let a contingent from each division of them devote
themselves to the study of religion and warn their people." Ijtihad should be
an ongoing part of the community's existence.
Ijtihad conditions (shurut):
The scholar must first understand Arabic well enough to understand the
Qur'an and Sunnah.
• The mujtahid should also know the Sunnah, the Qur'an, its Makki and
Madinese contents, its revelation events, and its abrogation. He must fully
understand the legal text, or ayat al-ahkam, and the Sunnah, especially the
portion related to his ijtihad.
• Al-Shatibi classifies all the conditions for ijtihad under two main categories:
comprehending Shari'ah's purposes and being familiar with sources and
logical processes. The first is necessary, while the second is a means to the
first.
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