IJTIHA

D
Dr. Khairul Fahmi
AGENDA
– Definition

– The Task of Mujtahid

– Areas of Ijtihad

– The Basis(Hujjiyyah) of Ijtihad

– The qualifications of mujtahid

– Ijtihad Today
Definition
p Literally means striving, expending of maximum effort
in the performance of an act.

p Technically: Total expenditure of effort made by a

mujtahid in order to infer the rules of Shari’ah from
their detailed evi dence i n the sour ces thr ough
interpretation.

‫جاكبسواب ملبلا ببط بفدهبسو دهبجللا لذب‬

‫سونيسالبجقيرطبسلا رشلا‬
Definition – cont’d
p The definition implies the following:
a. That the mujtahid should expend the maximum effort – work to
the limit of one’s ability.

b. That the person expending the effort should be a mujtahid. An

effort expended by a non/unqualified mujtahid bears no consequence.

c. The effort should be directed towards the discovery of the rules of

Shariah (al-ahkam) that pertain to the conduct of al-mukallaf.

d. The method of inference of the rules should be through

interpretation of the texts with the help of the other sources.

Memorization of such rules or their identification by the mufti is

therefore excluded.
The Task of Mujtahid

pThe primary task of a mujtahid is to discover the ahkam

of the shariah from the texts. This includes the following
activities:

a. Discover the law that is either stated explicitly in the

primary sources or is implied by the texts.

b. Extend the law to new cases that may be similar to cases

mentioned in the textual sources.

c. Discover the law for new cases that are not covered by the
previous two methods
AREAS OF IJTIHAD

p Ijtihad is concerned with practical rules of Shari’ah which usually

regulate the conduct of the mukallaf. Ijtihad essentially consists
of an inference (istinbat) that amounts to a probability (zann),
thereby excluding the extraction of a ruling from a clear text.

p Ijtihad should not be exercised on matters such as the creation of

the universe; neither on the existence of the creator because
there is only one correct view; nor on the obligatory status of the
pillars of the faith or the prohibition of murder because they are
known definitely from the clear text.

p Ijtihad also takes place in cases where no evidences, direct or

indirect, can be found for an issue faced by a mujtahid
‫‪THE BASIS OF IJTIHAD‬‬

‫‪p Ijtihad is validated by the Qur’an, the Sunnah and the‬‬

‫‪dictates of reason:‬‬
‫‪a. From al-Qur’an:‬‬

‫رألباأرنمألبسوُااراأبِاأرهِسّباأفاا هِسّبسودُبأبلأاأفاا هِسّبسويُاهِكأبلأاهلّوا بسنأاّياباار ههّبطأ اَب‬

‫يأرألِأسّ ههّبطا بتأ ُّتبطأيهِنلِهبواوأربسودُبابلأسويُاهِكابواَبُهر ههّبيهشّاارهَِأبجالودُباب‬
‫لأسوّاأِّذابسسخايابوأواْأبخأاّيلبلأاأاّآأاهبيأوّلارا َب ]سورآلُبلب‪[59‬‬

‫‪“O you who believe obey Allah and obey His messenger and‬‬
‫”‪those who are in authority among you‬‬
THE BASIS OF IJTIHAD – CON’TD
p From the Sunnah
Hadith Mu’az, and the hadiths: “ When a judge exercise ijtihad
and gives a right judgement, he will have two rewards, but if
errs in his judgement, he will still have earned one reward.

p The rational argument

While the nusus of Shari’ah are limited, new experiences in
the life of the community continue to give rise to new
problems. It is therefore imperative for the mujtahid to find
out solutions to such problems
THE QUALIFICATION OF
MUJTAHID
p Competent knowledge of the Arabic
To enable scholars to have a correct understanding of the Quran and
Sunnah.
Al-Shatibi: “Since the opinion of the mujtahid is a proof (hujjah) for a
layman, this degree of authority necessitates direct access to the
sources and full competence in Arabic”.

p Knowledge of al-Qur’an.
He must know the Makki and the Madinese contents of the Qur’an, the
occasions of its revelation (asbab al-nuzul) and incidences of
abrogation therein. He must have a full grasp of the legal contents
(ayat al-ahkam).
THE QUALIFICATION OF MUJTAHID
– cont’d
p Knowledge of the sunnah.
The mujtahid must be knowledgeable of the Sunnah as a whole,
especially with reference to the ahadith al-ahkam texts. He must
know the incidences of abrogation in the sunnah, the general and
the specific, (‘amm and khass), the absolute and the qualified
(mutlaq and muqayyad), and the reliability or otherwise of the
narrators of Hadith.

p Knowledge of ijma’.
The mujtahid must 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 ijma’.
THE QUALIFICATION OF MUJTAHID
– cont’d
p Knowledge of qiyas.
An adequate knowledge of the rules and procedures of qiyas is
essential for a mujtahid because the Quran and Sunnah, on the whole
do not completely specify the law as it might be stated in a juristic
manual, but contain general rulings and indications as to the causes of
the rulings. The mujtahid is thus enabled to have recourse to
analogical deduction in order to discover the ruling for an
unprecedented case
THE QUALIFICATION OF MUJTAHID
– cont’d
p Knowledge of the maqasid al-shari‘ah.
Which consists of the masalih (consideration of public interest)
particularly the five principles, (religion, life intellect, lineage and
property) as the recognized objectives of the Lawgiwer.

p Knowledge of general maxims of fiqh.

Eg: The removal of hardship (raf’ al-haraj), that certainty must prevail
over doubt.

p The mujtahid must be an upright ‘adil person who refrains

from committing sins and whose judgement the people can
trust.
THE QUALIFICATION OF MUJTAHID
– cont’d
p Al-Shatibi summarises all the foregoing requirements of
ijtihad under two main headings, one of which is the adequate
grasp of the objectives of the Shari’ah, while the other is the
knowledge of the sources and the methods of deduction. The
first is fundamental and the second serves as an instrument of
achieving the first
IJTIHAD TODAY

p Since ijtihad is primarily a legislative function controlled

by the state, an opinion issued by a mujtahid would
have no significance unless it is accepted by the state
and converted into law through legislation.
Q&A