Slides from Dr Mohd. Afandi Bin Awang Hamat, IIUM,UIAM

1. IJTIHAD
INTRODUCTION TO

2. INTRODUCTION TOINTRODUCTION TO
AGENDA
 Definition
 The Task of Mujtahid
 Areas of Ijtihad
 The Basis(Hujjiyyah) of Ijtihad
 The qualifications of mujtahid
 Ijtihad Today

3. INTRODUCTION TO
 Literally means striving, expending of maximum effort
in the performance of an act.
 Technically: Total expenditure of effort made by a
mujtahid in order to infer the rules of Shari’ah from
their detailed evidence taken from various sources
through interpretation/deduction/ inference (istinbat).
Definition

4. INTRODUCTION TO
 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 al-shariyyah) that pertain to the conduct of al-
mukallaf (al-ahkam al-’amaliyyah).
d. The method of inference of the rules should be through
interpretation of the texts with the help of the other sources.
Definition – cont’d

5. INTRODUCTION TO
The Task of Mujtahid
 The 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
Qur’an or hadith.

6. INTRODUCTION TO
 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 probable (al-zann),
thereby excluding the extraction of a ruling from a clear text (al-
qat’i).
 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.
 Ijtihad also takes place in cases where no evidences, direct or
indirect, can be found for an issue faced by a mujtahid
AREAS OF IJTIHAD

7. INTRODUCTION TO
 Ijtihad is validated by the Qur’an, the Sunnah and the
dictates of reason:
a. From al-Qur’an:
[59]
“O you who believe obey Allah and obey His messenger and
those who are in authority among you”
THE BASIS OF IJTIHAD

8. INTRODUCTION TO
THE BASIS OF IJTIHAD – CON’TD
 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.
()
 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 crucial for the mujtahid to find out
solutions to such problems.

9. INTRODUCTION TO
THE QUALIFICATION OF MUJTAHID
 1-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”.
 2-Knowledge of al-Qur’an.
He must know the Makki and the Madani contents of the Qur’an, the
occasions of its revelation (asbab al-nuzul) and incidences of
abrogation therein. He must have a full understanding of the legal
contents of (ayat al-ahkam).

10. INTRODUCTION TO
 3-Knowledge of the sunnah
The mujtahid must be knowledgeable of the Sunnah as a whole,
especially with reference to the ahadith al-ahkam. He must also
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.
 4-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

11. INTRODUCTION TO
 5-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

12. INTRODUCTION TO
 6-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.
 7-Knowledge of general maxims of fiqh
Eg: The removal of hardship (raf’ al-haraj), that certainty must prevail
over doubt.
 8-The mujtahid must be an upright ‘adil person
who refrains from committing sins and whose judgement the
people can trust in.
THE QUALIFICATION OF MUJTAHID – cont’d

13. INTRODUCTION TO
 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
THE QUALIFICATION OF MUJTAHID – cont’d

14. INTRODUCTION TO
IJTIHAD TODAY
 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.