Ijtihād
Definition
Ijtihad is the exercise of scholarly legal reasoning in matters where the primary sources (Quran and Sunna) do not provide an explicit ruling — the process by which qualified scholars extrapolate from established principles to address new situations. Al-Ghazali discusses ijtihad in the context of doubtful matters because the Muslim who encounters a shubha often needs to consult scholars who can exercise ijtihad to clarify the question. He warns against the misuse of ijtihad as a mechanism for manufacturing convenient rulings that serve worldly interests rather than divine guidance — a corrupted ijtihad that produces the answer the questioner wanted rather than the answer the law requires.
As understood in the classical tradition of Imam al-Ghazali and the scholars of his school.
How the scholars use Ijtihād.
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"such as doubt on the last night of Ramadan, which does not prevent decisive intention. It may also rely on ijtihad, like someone imprisoned who predominantly believes Ramadan has begun through his ijtihad; his doubt does not prevent him from having intention. As long as one is doubtful on the night of doubt, verbalizing the intention doesn’t benefit him because the heart is the place for intention, and it is inconceivable to decisively intend with doubt."
— Imam al-Ghazali, Book 6: The Book of Fasting
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"then it becomes evident that he has eaten during the day with certainty, he must make it up. If he remains on the judgment of his assumption and ijtihad, there is no make-up required, and he should not eat at the edges of the day except with sight and ijtihad. The fourth obligation is abstaining from intercourse, defined by the penetration of the glans."
— Imam al-Ghazali, Book 6: The Book of Fasting
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"just as the disbelief of Jews and Christians is contested despite their belief in its truth, because their error is definitively known, in contrast to errors in the realms of ijtihad. If you argue that when you challenge the Qadariyyah position that evil is not from God, they in return challenge you for saying that evil is from God; similarly, when you claim that God can be seen and extend this to other issues, remember that each sect considers itself right in its own eyes while the orthodox sees the innovator as erroneous."
— Imam al-Ghazali, Book 19: The Book of Commanding Good and Forbidding Evil
Appears in
2 books in the library
Hear the term in context.
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