The gates of Ijtihad (original) (raw)
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The Role of Ijtihād in Progressing Islamic Law in Modern Times
US-China Law Review, 2013
While new and complicated legal issues continuously come to the fore, Islamic sacred texts that deal with legal issues are finite. Ijtihad is an interpretive tool that applies legal reasoning based on sacred texts to derive new legal rules that meet emerging legal problems. This paper will elucidate the nature of Ijtihad and comment on the status of Ijtihad today. The paper will also explain why it is necessary to replace macro-Ijtihad with micro-Ijtihad, and will highlight the importance of the continuance of Ijtihad by Islamic jurists despite Islamic law’s reduced application.
Ijtihad and a Modernist Perspective towards Islamic Law and Thought
Journal of Islamic Law Studies , 2008
The concept of ijtihâd is a main mechanism for development of Islamic law. Thus, it has to reactivate its role for the present era. As these ra’y and qiyās are the supplementary components for ijtihâd, new occurrences have inspired the idea of sharī‘ah reform. This chapter will investigate the kinds of sharī‘ah reform that are related to ijtihâd, starting from the core foundation of ijtihad and leading to its development throughout history. Times constantly change, and with these changes, human thought evolves. To deal with this man needs to build a social structure in which he is able to live in harmony. As history has revealed, it is the belief of Muslims that God has responded to support this human revolution by sending prophets with revealed laws, thus, giving aim and direction to the human race. Man is considered as being guided towards certain purposes
Ijtihad- Oxford Handbook on Islamic Law
This article examines issues surrounding the historiography of ijtihad within the context of Islamic law. It considers the politics informing debates about whether the " gates " were ever closed, and what " closure " implies about Islamic law. It then discusses calls for the " reopening " of the " gates " , suggesting that such calls seem to reflect more about the conditions of modernity that pose new questions to a tradition with a considerable history, and less about the study of Islamic law. It also reviews the scholarship on ijtihad as a topic of legal theory in the usul al-fiqh genre and in relation to contemporary issues in legal philosophy and interpretation, along with the discourse of ijtihad in the modern period and its significance as a proxy for underlying concerns about epistemology, legal education, and authority. Finally, it outlines new scholarly directions for research on ijtihad. The topic of ijtihad has occupied researchers of Islamic law for decades if not centuries. Moreover, polemicists and reformists in more popular venues invoke it to question the relevance and ongoing significance of Islamic law in the world today. This essay will canvass a range of issues pertaining to the historiography of ijtihad. It will start by addressing the highly fraught concept of the " gates of ijtihad " and the debates about whether the " gates " were ever closed, what " closure " implies about Islamic law, and how calls for its " reopening " seem to reflect less about the study of Islamic law and more about the conditions of modernity that pose new questions to a tradition with a considerable history. Thereafter, the essay will explore the scholarship on ijtihad as a topic of legal theory in the usul al-fiqh genre, and the intersection of that discussion with contemporary issues in legal philosophy and interpretation. The essay will then turn to the discourse of ijtihad in the modern period, and its significance as a proxy for
Ijtihad Methods of The Prophet’s Companions and Its Influence on Islamic Legal Traditions
AHKAM : Jurnal Ilmu Syariah, 2021
This study examines the influence of the ijtihad methods of the Prophet’s companion on two major schools of thought in Islamic legal tradition. These are the rational thinking of Abu Hanifah, known as ahl al-ra’y and Malik ibn Anas, known as ahl hadith. This study is a historical enquiry by critically analyzing significant events in the past around the lives of those two figures. Various historical resources are used, tarikh tashri’ and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) literature, etc. This study finds out that there is a positive influence of the Prophet’s companions’ ijtihad methods with the legal thinking of Abu Hanifah and Malik ibn Anas. This implies that the method significantly influences the formulation of Islamic jurisprudence by those two figures. Abstrak:Penelitian ini mengkaji pengaruh metode ijtihad para sahabat nabi terhadap dua mazhab besar dalam tradisi hukum Islam. Metode tersebut yakni pemikiran rasional Abu Hanifah yang dikenal dengan ahl al-ra'y dan Malik bin An...
The Closing of the Door of Ijtihad and the Application of the Law
American Journal of Islam and Society
This panel's center of gravity is Islamic legal theory and doctrine,particularly usul alfiqh. In this mom are many of the West's leadingscholars in this field. This puts me out of step, for my work leads me tostudy fiqh and usul alfiqh chiefly from the viewpoint of their application,an approach that is the result of spending several years in SaudiArabia studying the role of fiqh and the ulema in the Islamic legalsystem. I wish to submit, however, that there are a number of doctrinalproblems to which a study of the law's application and practice or, inother words, a study of the legal system, stands to contribute a great deal.The closing of the door of ijtihad, which I intend to discuss, is such anissue.But first let me make some general points to support the generalsuggestion I have just made. In western studies of fiqh, we have oftenomitted, justifiably or not, any consideration of the law's application.Among the valid justifications for doing so is the very vastnes...
Ijtihād Holds Supremacy in Islamic Law: Muslim Communities and the Evolution of Law
Religions, 2022
While the traditional view of Islamic law (sharīah) and jurisprudence is to consider the Qur’an as the starting point for legal matters, followed by the prophetic tradition, and then resorting to various forms of “ijtihād”, it is argued here that the Qur’an was not really held in a position of legal supremacy. Since the time of the earliest Muslim community, it is “ijtihād” that has created the criteria by which Qur’anic and even prophetic rules are to be kept, suspended, and contradicted. Therefore, the Qur’an is not viewed historically as having legal supremacy for Islamic law and is not considered similar to some constitutions, against which laws are measured. Hence, in modern-day Islamic legal discourse, it would not be unreasonable to argue that “ijtihād” has supremacy in Islamic law, giving some flexibility to Muslim communities in the evolution of such laws.
The place of ijtihad in Islamic law and the necessary conditions to be qualified a mujtahid
This paper discusses the place of ijtihad in Islamic law as well as the requirements to be a mujtahid. The historical decline of ijtihad, the concept of taqlid and the recent trend of ‘group ijtihad’ will also be explored. Ijtihad will be shown to be a dynamic legal tool which can ensure that the intents and purposes of sacred law remains relevant to all times and places.
More and more people are looking to ijtihad as a means towards the annulment or relaxation of the rules and restrictions derived from the categorical texts of the Qur’ān and the ḥadīths. They want to ignore the texts by invoking their 'spirit', thereby seeking to adjust Islamic rules to accord with what they desire. Such an inclination towards ijtihād is based on a misunderstanding of its meanings, scope, and the reality of its restrictions vis-à-vis the categorical texts of the Qur’ān and the Sunnah. This paper will examine the approach of those mistakenly calling for ijtihād, their misapprehensions regarding it, and the true scope of ijtihād in the context of Islamic law.
Ijtihad From Friends Of The Prophet Muhammad In Making Justice Law
2021
This study explains that ijtihad existed when the companions of the Prophet Muhammad were still alive and continued to develop along with the development of Islam. Ijtihad was born because it is a logical reflection of the struggles of various situations in society that require solutions to be found. However, it should be noted that not everyone can perform ijtihad because ijtihad must use the science of ushul fiqh. Ijtihad, which is carried out carelessly can produce a perverted legal product, as is the case today. Therefore, through this study, the author discusses the ijtihad practised by the companions of the Prophet Muhammad before the emergence of the science of ushul fiqh. The purpose of this discussion is to find out whether the licensed products that were born before the emergence of ushul fiqh science are legally flawed or not. After conducting an in-depth study, it was found that even though at that time the science of ushul fiqh had not been recorded in one book, the com...