| Author | Topic |
aslammir
PAKISTAN
|
 Topic initiated on Saturday, August 14, 2010 - 1:51 AM 
Ijtehad?
What is ijtehad? What are limits and parameters of ijtehad? |
|
MsMobyMa
USA
|
 Posted - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - 5:26 AM 
|
saba2
Moderator
PAKISTAN
|
Posted - Sunday, August 15, 2010 - 5:51 AM
Ijtihad
The term Ijtihad means to derive and deduce religious opinion about some matter that is not mentioned in the sources of Islam,
keeping in view the spirit and overall framework of Islam. In other words, the area of Ijtihad is the area in which Islam is silent and
one must use one’s common sense, intellect and experience to arrive at an opinion that should be in conformity with the spirit of Islam.
The Arabic for the words : ‘I will exercise my judgement’ are ajtahidu rai from which the term Ijtihad is derived.
source: The renaissance
http://www.renaissance.com.pk/febq42y2.html
Leading Sunni jurists have chosen ijtihad to mean derivation of Shar`i hukm through personal judgement and ray for an issue for which the mujtahid does not find any express text in the Quran or the Sunna.It states that ijtihad is to derive and determine ahkam from the sources; it does not specify that the person performing derivation should also possess the capacity, whereas the mujtahid is the one who possesses the capacity of ijtihad. It means that ijtihad depends on the capacity and it is not possible to derive ahkam from
reliable sources except through that capacity and here possession of the capacity is taken for granted.
Ijtihad: Its Meaning, Sources, Beginnings and the Practice of Ra'y
by
Muhammad Ibrahim Jannati http://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/ijtihad/
If this is the definition of Ijtehad then the scope is very limited and dependent on the
Mujtahid and his capacity of critical thinking and independent thought. |
|
ibrahim
PAKISTAN
|
Posted - Sunday, August 15, 2010 - 8:23 AM
but if the words of Hazrat Mu'aaz bin Jabal "I will exercise my judgement’ are taken in the way the were spoken then every1 can do Ijtihad for him/herself on the basis of the limited that he/she has.
The Strict and Hard conditions that have been applied for Ijtihad n Mujtahid are on the basis that an opinion based on Ijtihad becomes part of the Sharee'ah whereas that opinion is only for the person who has made it and for those who accept it and agree w it's reasoning. Others will act upon some other opinion on that matter. there's no binding for any1 about any Ijtihad. |
|
saba2
Moderator
PAKISTAN
|
Posted - Sunday, August 15, 2010 - 9:12 AM
Salam Ibrahim Sahab, it's nice to hear from you after a long time. I guess your work keeps you busy but it is nice to hear from you from time to time.
I need to understand this better any one for themselves can exercise this judgement even if it differs from age old interpretation or opinion? or is it only for a new situation on which you cannot find any guidance? |
|
saba2
Moderator
PAKISTAN
|
Posted - Tuesday, August 17, 2010 - 8:40 AM
| Ibrahim Sahab can I please request you to reply to my question. |
|
saba2
Moderator
PAKISTAN
|
Posted - Wednesday, August 18, 2010 - 4:35 PM
| Ibrahim sahab seems to be busy so Aslammir can you answer my question. |
|
Pastway
USA
|
Posted - Friday, August 20, 2010 - 1:28 AM
saba2 -
I know that I am hardly qualified as a knowledgeable speaker myself on the matter, but I wanted to share this as perhaps it may offer some insight or further discussion. The quote comes from the book Islam: Religion, History, and Civilization by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, p. 79:
"The great jurists (fuqaha', pl. of faqih) who codified the schools of law practiced the rendering of new opinions based on the basic sources, or what is called ijtihad. In the Sunni world the gate of ijtihad became closed in the fourth/tenth century, and many authorities have been seeking to open it since the end of the nineteenth century. In the Shi'ite world, the gate of ijtihad has always been open, and it is considered essential that in each generation those who have the qualifications to practice ijtihad, called mujtahids, go back to the Qu'ran, Sunnah, and Hadith (which for Shi'ites includes the sayings of the Shi'ite Imams) and reformulate in a fresh manner the body of the Law."
I am not sure if that is helpful or not. I hope someone can provide you a better answer than I was able to find! |
|
saba2
Moderator
PAKISTAN
|
Posted - Friday, August 20, 2010 - 2:28 PM
Thank you Pastway, I am touched and grateful that you took the time to investigate and get the material for me, dont worry none of us are qualified we are all learning.
I always thought Ijtihad could only be done or practiced on issue which were new or were not touched before but I guess I was wrong. |
|
safimera
CANADA
|
Posted - Friday, August 20, 2010 - 6:05 PM
may be Syed hussain NASR BELONGS TO sHIA School of thought.....OTHERWISE he could not bias this observation...
he is right that after 4th century, true ijtehad was almost closed..but it applied to all people of Islam....Shias were not exception.... |
|
Pastway
USA
|
Posted - Friday, August 20, 2010 - 7:45 PM
safimera -
I did some more research and you would be correct, he is a Shia. From the article on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seyyed_Hossein_Nasr :
"He was nominated and won King Faisal Foundation award, but his prize was withdrawn upon the prize knowledge of him being a Shia. "
Would you be able to educate us more, safimera? Who closed ijtihad in the fourth century, and why? |
|
safimera
CANADA
|
Posted - Friday, August 20, 2010 - 9:21 PM
ijtehad was not closed on a single order by a single authority....
when we say, by 4th century ijtehad was generally closed, it means that slowly and gradually, with the passage of time, it was almost not practised after 4th century....
How we know that???
it is only by observation of history and different books of scholars of that time....
two types of authorities are always behind the big changes of a nation or civilizations....
1) rulers...2) scholars...
both from the 4th centuries became more conservative, strict and rigid.
Rulers usually were having lust of power and worldly gain.....but
scholars were of 2 types....
1) some were sincere but they observed that general public was more inclined to worldly gain (please keep in your mind that Islam insists that your main purpose of this life is to get good life in heaven)
.....so they became very strict and did not allow anybody to interfere in islamic rulings and make fun of such rulings.....
2) other scholars were in same catogory of rulers meaning; to gain authority and worldly gain......
but it does not mean that no scholar had tried to ijtihad during that period...ibn taimiya and ibn hazam were some examples.....
but usually those rulers and non ijtihad scholars were so powerful that such voices were not able to get any authority....
this still is going on......
present day scholars who want to change this attitude, are still not welcome in general public.....
why God did not interfere.....???
I cannot say anything...
May be this was part of God 's scheme to test good and bad both kind of people in this way.....
there is one saying: when majority of common people want to avoid the truth to get worldly gain, their rulers and scholars are made by GOD same like them....
this is my research...there is full chance that I am may be wrong.....
God know better |
|
Pastway
USA
|
Posted - Saturday, August 21, 2010 - 1:31 AM
Safimera -
I wish I could remember the exact quote and the person who penned it, but it went something like this . . . "There is no shame in being wrong, there is only shame in insisting you are always right." So there is no apology needed if there is an inconsistency anywhere in what you have said.
I hope you will forgive me if I continue with my questions, based upon your answer (and of course, anyone else can jump in too!). You have stated that to the Sunni, ijtihad has been closed for a very long time. What came to mind was the subject of coffee, which I understand was a rather large source of heated discussion in the umma in the 16th century due to its interpretation as an intoxicant and the negative effect it was having upon mosques at the time. After much debate it was generally decided, as I understand it, that coffee was halal (though yes, I understand it is not accepted as such by many devout Muslims). Since coffee is not mentioned in the Qu'ran, would this debate and resolution be an example of more modern ijtihad, or am I misunderstanding something more basic in the concept?
Thank you so much for your thoughts; I am learning so much talking with you folks! |
|
saba2
Moderator
PAKISTAN
|
Posted - Saturday, August 21, 2010 - 5:11 AM
Question: What is Ijtihad? Is it a Qur’anic term?
Answer: The term Ijtihad means to derive and deduce religious opinion about some matter that is not mentioned in the sources of Islam, keeping in view the spirit and overall framework of Islam. In other words, the area of Ijtihad is the area in which Islam is silent and one must use one’s common sense, intellect and experience to arrive at an opinion that should be in conformity with the spirit of Islam. For example, matters like test-tube babies, organ donation and cloning are some of the recent developments in science and one needs to know whether they are permitted by religion or not. It is in such matters that need for Ijtihad arises.
The term Ijtihad is not a Qur’anic term. As a matter of fact, it has originated from a conversation that is reported in Hadith books to have taken place between the Prophet (sws) and one of his companions Mu‘adh Ibn Jabal (rta) at the time when the latter was being sent by him to govern the territory of Yemen:
[The Prophet asked:] ‘How will you judge the cases [that come to you]?’ He replied: ‘I will judge according to the Book of Allah’. ‘But if you do not get anything there, what will you do?’, the Prophet (sws) asked. He said: ‘I will refer to the Sunnah of the Prophet (sws)’. ‘But if you do not get it even there, what will you do?’, the Prophet (sws) asked again. He replied: ‘I will exercise my judgement.’ Hearing this the Prophet (sws) patted Mu‘adh (rta) on the shoulder and said: ‘Praise be to Allah who has guided the Messenger of His Messenger to what pleases His Messenger’. (Nisa’i: No. 1327)
The Arabic for the words : ‘I will exercise my judgement’ are ajtahidu rai from which the term Ijtihad is derived.
source: The renaissance
If you read this definition of Ijtehad then you will understand that Ijtehad is done when Islam is silent about something, like drinking coffee weather Halal or not or big recent issues like Organ transplant, stem cell research etc.
The question why Ijetihad was stopped by muslims is because investigation stopped, research stopped so thinking stopped , blind following was encouraged due to Politics and power as mentioned by Safimera. So people decided all questions that needed answering have been answered and so Ijtihad stopped or was not practiced. This is where in my personal opinion rigidity set in Islam which further lead to intolerance and to some extent isolation.
Can Ijtehad be used to give new ruling because overtime things have changed and the circumstances are different ? My personal opinion it should be so otherwise we will go nowhere and be afraid of change and freedom of thought or look at modern education as a source of evil. |
|
Pastway
USA
|
Posted - Saturday, August 21, 2010 - 9:07 AM
Thank you so much, saba2. I notice that you quote the Renaissance a lot, and I admit that is a failing of mine that I do not utilize that resource more often. I'll be sure to look over the pertinent articles as soon as possible!
I think, as much as I can, that I understand the quandry . . . after all, God is omnipotent, and as such His final Revelation should be the Sum of All Things in regard to human action. As such I can see where ijtihad would be if not "stopped", then at least frowned upon. But you are correct, there's very much about our times that it does not mention. One thing that I have been thinking hard about, just as an example, is this:
quote:
O children of Adam, we have provided you with garments to cover your bodies, as well as for luxury. But the best garment is the garment of righteousness. These are some of God's signs, that they may take heed. (7:26)
Many Muslims interpret this as wearing the hijab. Now I also know that covering one's hair (or more, wearing to burqa etc.) is not REQUIRED in the Qu'ran, but in today's modern times, I am wondering if the correct interpretation in regard to women would not be to dress modestly as is the norm in one's own culture. I know where I live, if I were to wear the hijab I would most definitely be the center of attention which I would gather is exactly what God would NOT want. But as the Qu'ran does not refer to the case of wearing this type of "modest clothes" making a woman stand out in a crowd, would it be an allowable ijtihad to take one's cues from culture rather than the Almighty so as to serve Him better without distraction? I simply do not know. |
|
safimera
CANADA
|
Posted - Saturday, August 21, 2010 - 10:51 AM
quote:
though yes, I understand it is not accepted as such by many devout Muslims
I think no muslim scholar says that coffee is haram???
let me modify my version about ijtihad:
1) it was not the case that all scholars stopped ijtihad after 4th century. there were scholars like ibn taymiya or ibn hazam or ibn rushd etc were doing ijtihad.
2) Most scholars usually stopped to reconsider any ijtihad done by earlier scholars. They considered that those ijtihad were final and no need to change.
3) but yes!! u r right, for any new problem, they continued to do ijtihad.
4) because they did not want to reconsider the earlier ijtihad, the new ijtihad they made, sometimes also wrong because it had dependence on earlier ijithad.
5) Earlier ijtihad made by then scholars were all reagrding the very BASIC of islam....so if they were wrong ...the modern ijtihad may have chance to be wrongly established.
haha!!! may be I could not make my point very clear in my wordings....but I tried ....
. quote:
if I were to wear the hijab I would most definitely be the center of attention which I would gather is exactly what God would NOT want
you mentioned good point here....but what I understood that Quran stopped women to become center of attention by exposing their beauty...if they become centre of attention by COVERING THEIR BEAUTY. as hijab..I think there shoud be no problem in that.....instead it could gain more respect for them rather to be subject of hooligans....
GOd knows better
Edited by: safimera on Saturday, August 21, 2010 10:53 AM |
|
 Reply to Topic 
Printer Friendly |
| Jump To: |
|
|
|