Islamic Studies FAH 0013

Understanding of Ijtihad (Personal Reasoning)

Prepared:
Ustaz Muhd Hedayatul Islam

Introduction
Ijtihad

is the most important source of

Islamic law next to the Qur'an and the
Sunnah. The main difference between
ijtihad and the revealed sources of the
Shari'ah lies in the fact that ijtihad is a
continuous process of development
whereas
divine
revelation
and
prophetic legislation discontinued upon
the demise of the Prophet (s.a.w).

Cont.

In this sense, ijtihad continues to be

the main instrument of interpreting
the divine message and relating it to
the changing conditions of the
Muslim community in its aspirations
to attain justice, salvation and truth.

Meaning of Ijtihad

Ijtihad is a term which has been used in different

meanings and we need to know the meanings of
its different terms.

Being a derivation from the root word jahada,

ijtihad literally means striving, or self-exertion in
any activity which entails a measure of hardship.

It would thus be in order to use jahada in

respect of one who carries a heavy load, but not
so if he carries only a trivial weight.

Cont.

Ijtihad(Arabic:ijtihd) is an Islamic legal term

that means "independent reasoning" or "the
utmost effort an individual can put forth in an
activity. As one of the four sources
ofIslamiclaw, it is recognized as the decisionmakingprocessinIslamiclaw(shariah)through
personal effort (jihad) which is completely
independent of any school (madhhab) of
jurisprudence(fiqh).

Cont.

Jurisprudential meaning, however, ijtihad

mainly consists not of physical, but of
intellectual exertion on the part of the
jurist.

Thus Ijtihad is defined as the total

expenditure of effort made by a jurist
in order to infer, with a degree of
probability, the rules of Shari'ah from
their detailed evidence in the sources.
(Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence, M. Hashim Kamali)

Who is Mujtahid?
By using both the Qur'an and Hadith as

resources, the scholar who is carefully

rely on analogical reasoning to find a
solution to a legal problem, which is
consideredtobeareligiousdutyforthose
qualifiedtoconductit.

Cont.
Thus,

amujtahidis recognized as an
Islamic scholar who is competent in
interpretingshariabyijtihad.

AMujtahid(diligent) is an individual who is

qualified to exerciseijtihadin the evaluation of
Islamic law. In generalMujtahidsmust have an
extensive knowledge of Arabic, the Qur'an,
theSunnah,andlegaltheory(Usulal-fiqh).

Reward for Ijtihad

Amar

ibn Al-As reported: I heard the

Messenger of Allah, peace be upon
him, say, If a judge makes a ruling,
striving to apply his reasoning
(ijtihad) and he is correct, then he
will have two rewards; and if a judge
makes a ruling, striving to apply his
reasoning and he is mistaken, then
he
will
have
one
reward.

Example of Ijtihad

Mu'adh ibn Jabal states that when the Prophet (s.a.w) sent
him to Yemen, he asked:

What will you do if a matter is referred to you for

judgement?" Mu'adh said: "I will judge according to the
Book of Allah." The Prophet asked: "what if you find no
solution in the Book of Allah?" Mu'adh said: "Then I will
judge by the Sunnah of the Prophet." The Prophet asked:
"And what if you do not find it in the Sunnah of the
Prophet?" Mu'adh said: "Then I will make Ijtihad to
formulate my own judgement." The Prophet patted
Mu'adh's chest and said "Praise be to Allah who has guided
the messenger of His Prophet to that which pleases Him
and His Prophet."[Abu Daud]

Conditions (Shurut) of
Ijtihad

The mujtahid must be a Muslim and a

competent person of sound mind who has
attained a level of intellectual competence
which enables him to form an independent
judgment. In his capacity as a successor to
the Prophet, the mujtahid performs a
religious duty, and his verdict is a proof
(hujjah) to those who follow him; he must
therefore
be
a
Muslim,
and
be
knowledgeable in the various disciplines of
religious learning.

Cont.

A person who fails to meet one or more of

the requirements of ijtihad is disqualified
and
may
not
exercise
ijtihad.
The
requirements which are discussed below
contemplate ijtihad in its unrestricted form,
often referred to as ijtihad fi'l-shar`, as
opposed to the varieties of ijtihad that are
confined to a particular school, or to
particular issues within the confines of a
given
madhhab.

Requirements of Ijtihad

(a) Knowledge of Arabic to the extent that enables

the scholar to enjoy a correct understanding of the
Qur'an and the Sunnah. A complete

(b) The mujtahid must also be knowledgeable in the

Qur'an and the Sunnah, the Makki and the Madinese
contents of the Qur'an, the occasions of its revelation
(asbab al-nuzul) and the incidences of abrogation
therein. More specifically, he must have a full grasp
of the legal contents, or the ayat al-ahkam, but not
necessarily of the narratives and parables of the
Qur'an and its passages relating to the hereafter.

Cont..

(c) The Mujtahid must possess an adequate

knowledge of the Sunnah, especially that
part of it which relates to the subject of his
ijtihad. This is the view of those who admit
the divisibility (tajzi'ah) of ijtihad, but if
ijtihad is deemed to be indivisible, then the
Mujtahid must be knowledgeable of the
Sunnah as a whole, especially with
reference to the ahkam texts, often referred
to as ahadith al-ahkam.

Cont.
(d)

The Mujtahid must also know the

substance of the furu` works and the
points on which there is an ijma'. He
should be able to verify the
consensus of the Companions, the
Successors, and the leading Imams
and Mujtahidun of the past so that
he is guarded against the possibility
of issuing an opinion contrary to
such an ijma`.

Cont.
(e)

Furthermore, the Mujtahid should

know the objectives (Maqasid) of the
Shari'ah, which consist of the
masalih (considerations of public
interest).
The
most
important
masalih are those which the
Lawgiver has Himself identified and
which must be given priority over
others.

Cont.
Thus

the protection of the `Five

Principles', namely of his, religion,
intellect, lineage and property, are
the recognised objectives of the
Lawgiver.These are the essentials
(daruriyyat) of the masalih and as
such they are distinguished from the
complementary (hajiyyat) and the
embellishments (tahsiniyyat).

Cont.
(f)

The Mujtahid must also know the

general maxims of fiqh such as the
removal of hardship (raf`al-haraj),
that certainty must prevail over
doubt, and other such principles
which are designed to prevent
rigidity in the ahkam. He must be
able to distinguish the genuine
masalih from those which might be
inspired by whimsical desires, and be

Cont.
Finally,

the Mujtahid must be an

upright (`adil) person who refrains
from committing sins and whose
judgement the people can trust. His
sincerity must be beyond question
and untainted with self-seeking
interests. For ijtihad is a sacred trust,
and anyone who is tainted with
heresy
and
self-indulgence
is
unworthy of it. (Principles of Islamic

Ijtihad-Where to Apply
Al-Ahkam alItiqadiyah
Sanctions relating
to belief
Aqidah

Al-Ahkam alAmaliyah
Sanctions relating
to actions/sayings
of individuals
Fiqh

Al-Ahkam alAkhlaqiyah
Sanctions relating
to moral & ethics
Akhlaq

Cont.
Ijtihad

is applicable only to
Al-Ahkam al-Amaliyah
Sanctions relating to actions/sayings of

individuals
Fiqh
Al-Ahkam

al-Akhlaqiyah

Sanctions relating to moral & ethics

Akhlaq