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.
Appears in
2 books in the library
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