AFS2023 USUL FIQH/ISLAMIC JURISPRUDENCE IJTIHAD (PERSONAL REASONING) 4/16/2017 Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad

Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad CONTENTS Introduction The Value (Hukm) of Ijtihad Conditions (Shurut) of Ijtihad The Ranks of the Mujtahidun 4/16/2017 Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad

Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad Introduction Literally means striving, or self-exertion in any activity which entails a measure of hardship. 4/16/2017 Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad

Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad Introduction 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. 4/16/2017 Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad

Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad Introduction Some ulema have defined ijtihad as the application by a jurist of all his faculties either in inferring the rules of Shari'ah from their sources, or in implementing such rules and applying them to particular issues. 4/16/2017 Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad

Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad Introduction Ijtihad essentially consists of an inference (istinbat) that amounts to a probability (zann), thereby excluding the extraction of a ruling from a clear text. 4/16/2017 Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad

The Value (Hukm) of Ijtihad 1) Ijtihad becomes a personal obligation (wajib or fard `ayn) of the qualified mujtahid in urgent cases, that is, when there is fear that the cause of justice or truth may be lost if ijtihad is not immediately attempted. 4/16/2017 Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad

The Value (Hukm) of Ijtihad 2) Ijtihad becomes a fard kafa'i when there is no urgency over ijtihad, or in the event where other mujtahids are available. 4/16/2017 Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad

The Value (Hukm) of Ijtihad 3) Ijtihad is recommended (mandub) in all cases where no particular issue has been referred to the mujtahid, or when it is attempted in the absence of an issue by way of theoretical construction at the initiative of the jurist himself. 4/16/2017 Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad

The Value (Hukm) of Ijtihad 4) Ijtihad is forbidden (haram) when it contradicts the decisive rules of the Qur'an, the Sunnah and a definite ijma'. 4/16/2017 Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad

Conditions (Shurut) of Ijtihad 1) Knowledge of Arabic to the extent that enables the scholar to enjoy a correct understanding of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. 4/16/2017 Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad

Conditions (Shurut) of Ijtihad 2) 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), the incidences of abrogation therein, and the legal contents. 4/16/2017 Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad

Conditions (Shurut) of Ijtihad 3) The mujtahid must possess an adequate knowledge of the Sunnah, especially that part of it which relates to the subject of his ijtihad. 4/16/2017 Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad

Conditions (Shurut) of Ijtihad 4) 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`. 4/16/2017 Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad

Conditions (Shurut) of Ijtihad 5) The mujtahid must possess an adequate knowledge of Qiyas. 6) The mujtahid should know the objectives (maqasid) of the Shari'ah, which consist of the masalih (considerations of public interest). 4/16/2017 Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad

Conditions (Shurut) of Ijtihad 7) The mujtahid must be an upright (`adil) person who refrains from committing sins and whose judgement the people can trust. 4/16/2017 Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad

The Ranks of the Mujtahidun 1) Full Mujtahid (mujtahid fi'l-shar'). This rank is assigned to chose who fulfilled all the requirements of ijtihad. They deduced the ahkam from the evidence in the sources, and in so doing were not restricted by the rules of a particular madhhab. The learned among the Companions,the leading Imams of the four schools. 4/16/2017 Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad

The Ranks of the Mujtahidun 2) Mujtahids within the School. These are jurists who expounded the law within the confines of a particular school while adhering to the principles laid down by their Imams. Among the prominent names that feature in this category are Zafar b. al-Hudhayl, Hasan b. Ziyad. 4/16/2017 Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad

The Ranks of the Mujtahidun 3) Mujtahids on Particular Issues. These are jurists who were competent to elucidate and apply the law in particular cases which were not settled by the jurists of the first and second ranks. 4/16/2017 Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad

The Ranks of the Mujtahidun 4) The so-called ashab al-takhrij, who did not deduce the ahkam but were well conversant in the doctrine and were able to indicate which view was preferable in cases of ambiguity, or regarding suitability to prevailing conditions. 4/16/2017 Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad

The Ranks of the Mujtahidun 5) The ashab al-tarjih are those who were competent to make comparisons and distinguish the correct (sahih) and the preferred (rajih, arjah) and the agreed upon (mufta biha) views from the weak ones. 4/16/2017 Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad

WALLAHU ’ALAM THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENTION 4/16/2017 Copyright Reserved@2012 Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad