al-tawhid ,ijtihad
The sources of ijtihad according to Shi'ah and
the Ahl al‑Sunnah, put together, are: the Book, the Sunnah, ijma` (consensus), `aql (reason),qiyas (analogy), istihsan,
masalih mursalah, istislah, sadd al‑dhara'i`, fath al‑dhara'i; madhhab al‑sahabi,
shari`at al‑salaf, `urf, istidlal, and so on.
In this series of articles we shall try to discuss and study these
topics in detail from the Shi`i and the Sunni points of view.
We expect writers and scholars who have specialty in this field to
contribute to the soundness and validity of these studies through constructive
criticism relevant to the subject studied here. Any constructive criticism is
very useful for correcting errors and removing shortcomings, and effective in
eliminating ambiguities and omissions. Besides rendering vital service to
scholarship, it is beneficial to the author, who is forced to be more careful
in his statements and precise in his research. The intellectual history of
Islam is indicative of the debt that the development and expansion of legal and
other scientific studies owe to diverse viewpoints and competent criticism.
This commendable and beneficial tradition has been in vogue in its
most desirable form throughout the seven epochs of ijtihad among
all the scholars and mujtahidun, and especially in the sixth
and the seventh periods, whose fore‑runners were Wahid Behbahani and the great
al Shaykh al‑'Ansari respectively, this tradition reached its zenith.
Also, the very force of ijtihad, from the era
of tashri` (legislation) to the present (as discussed in
detail in the article on the epochs ofijtihad), as a legitimate
activity is derived from criticism and debate. Because, in Islamic fiqh, ijtihad has
had the meaning of a free and independent effort of the mujtahidun, undertaken
for the purpose of advancement and expansion of the Islamic sciences. This
development was not possible except through freedom of scholarly research, free
expression of different views and clash between views of themujtahidun, scholars
and thinkers.
By practising ijtihad, a mujtahid deduces
the ahkam (laws) of the Shari'ah for issues and problems
regarding which there is no specific express text (nass), by
relying on legal sources and principles and by benefiting from the ideas of
other mujtahidun. On account of this, it may be said
that ijtihad plays the role of an evolutionary and dynamic
force in legal studies which provides solutions to contingent issues of life
and fulfils the needs of changing times and the requirements of new phenomena
of human civilization. Therefore, Islamic fiqh does not suffer
with inertia, stagnation and passivity vis‑a‑vis the demands of the times, of
life and its manifestations; it also advances along with them. It is for this
reason that it has been said that ijtihad has been throughout
Islamic history the force which has been constantly developing and expanding
the boundaries of fiqh with respect to its applications, while maintaining the
stability of legislation. Thus, ijtihad is essential for Islamic
fiqh, without which it cannot be dynamic and progressive.
On the basis of this, closing of the gates of ijtihad
is contrary to the perennial mission of Islam in all ages, and, most
certainly, alien elements have played an active role in promoting this ominous
venture. For the enemies of Islam, it has been, and still is, the best weapon
to strike Islamic law with, and the most effective instrument for eliminating
it from scientific, cultural, economic, social and political arenas. Because,
closing of the gates of ijtihad renders fiqh ineffective and
incapable of providing answers to emergent and contingent issues of life
The present deficiencies in the world of Islam, the failure to confront
the contingent issues in a proper way, the issuing of baseless and irrationalfatawa, the
improper attitude towards new ideas ‑ all these are consequencies of the
closing of the gates of ijtihad by the Ahl al-Sunnah. It has
been instrumental in allowing dubious hands, with the aid of taghuti governments,
to instil unhealthy ideas into the people's minds and to insinuate the feeling
that Islamic fiqh cannot fulfil the demands of the present age and the modern
civilization.
These insinuations have left undesirable effects on the minds of
short‑sighted and self‑alienated persons unaware of the spirit of Islam, to the
extent that they servilely follow the aliens and prefer Western laws to the
laws of Islam (we shall have more to say about this matter in the article
"The Era of the Decline of Sunni Ijtihad").
The most outstanding achievement of Shi'i fiqh has been to keep
open the gates of ijtihad throughout the course of history.
Its superiority over other schools of fiqh, whose doors were closed after the
death of their founders (namely, Abu Hanifah al‑Nu'man ibn Thabit, the founder
of Hanafi School; Malik ibn Anas al‑'Asbahi, the founder of the Maliki School;
Muhammad ibn Idris al‑Shafi'i,the founder of the Shafi'i School; and Ahmad ibn
Hanbal, the founder of the Hanbali School), lies here. (An exposition of this
issue from various aspects and a critique of the speech of the editor of the
Kuwaiti journal al‑Mujtama`, Isma'il al‑Shatti, delivered at
the U.A.E. university on Nov. 1, 1982, wherein he denounced the claim about the
continuity of ijtihad as a `conspiracy against the faith,'
will come in our article on the epochs of ijtihad.)
We shall deal with the following topics in this study:
The lexical meaning of the word `ijtihad'.
The meaning of ijtihad in the utterances of the
Prophet (S).
The technical meaning of the term ijtihad.
Two different meanings of ijtihad as a technical
term used by Muslimfuqaha'.
Acceptance of ijtihad as an independent source of
law in Sunni fiqh.
Causes of the emergence of ijtihad bi al‑ray and
other conjectural instruments among the Ahl a1‑Sunnah.
Arguments offered in favour of ijtihad bi al‑ray and
their refutation.
The beginnings of ijtihad in the sense of ray.
The period during which ijtihad bi al‑ray was
known as tawil.
The continued use of the term ijtihad in the
sense of ray.
Change in the meaning of ijtihad from its
original sense of ray.
The meaning of the term ijtihad.
The difference between the two meanings of ijtihad from
the point of view of the effects and consequences of each of them.
Delimiting of the new meaning of ijtihad by al‑Muhaqqiq
al‑Hilli.
The times since when the Shi'ah and the Ahl al‑Sunnah felt the
need forijtihad.
Ijtihad in
the days of the Imams (A).
Ijtihad, a
perennial spring of Islamic fiqh.
The first legist who opened the doors of Shi'i ijtihad.
The difference between the styles of ijtihad during
the period of the Major Occultation and afterwards.
The development of ijtihad in Sunni fiqh.
The decline of ijtihad in Sunni fiqh.
The impact of the backwardness of Sunni fiqh on the Sunni society.
The Akhbari stand against ijtihad.
The factors and causes behind the Akhbari rejection of ijtihad.
Wahid al‑Behbahani's crusade against Akhbarism.
The factors and causes behind al‑Behbahani's success and
advancement.
The synthesis of Akhbari and Usuli outlooks regarding ijtihad.
The Prophet (S) and ijtihad.
The place of ijtihad.
`Ijtihad', according to the lexicographers, is derived from `juhd', which
means employment of effort or endeavour in performing a certain activity. Here
we shall quote some of them:
Ibn al‑'Athir defines `ijtihad' as the effort and
endeavour undertaken for attaining some objective. [1] He
further remarks that the word () occurs in many ahdith. ’Juhd’ means
employing ones complete strength, and `jahd' means hardship
and difficulty.` [2]
Ibn Manzur al‑Misri says: Jahd and juhd mean
power and strength. He adds that it is said that whereas jahd means
hardship and difficulty,juhd gives the sense of power and
strength. [3] Later
on he quotes al‑Farra' to the effect that in the verse of the Quran [4] jahd is
used in the sense of power and strength. [5] In
the same work, he states that ijtihad and tajahud mean
exertion of power and strength. [6] In
the hadith narrated from Mu'adh the phrase used in the sense of effort
and endeavour to achieve some purpose.
Said al‑Khuri says: Ijtihad means undertaking
effort and endeavour in performing some task. For instance it is `He exerted himself to carry
the stone', but nobody says: (Khardalah=mustard seed). [7] He
further adds that jahd (verbal ofjahada) is used
in the sense of strength ‑ as in (he did all in his power) as
well as in the sense of trying hard, as in is used in the sense of
strength. [8]
Al‑Munjid states:
Ahmad al‑Qayyumi wiites: Juhd in the usage of the
people of the Hijaz and jahd in the non‑Hijazi usage means
exerting one's strength and power, and it has been said that juhd means
strength and jahd means toil and strain. [9] He
further adds: (Ijtihada means:
he spent his strength and capacity to attain his goal and his ultimate
objective'). [10]
Al‑`Allamah al Turayhi states: It occurs in a hadith that: (‘the best of charities is
that which is given by one in indigence’). [11]
He also says: means: (ijtihada bi
yamanih means: He tried hard and did his utmost in order to fulfil his
promise'). [12] He
explains that ijtihad involves doing one's utmost while
striving and making effort. [13]
Ibn Abi Dhar`ah, quoting al‑Mawardi, states that the literal meaning
ofijtihad is to undertake effort and endeavour in accomplishing
something that requires strain and difficulty, and to this is related jihad
al‑nafs (the struggle against the carnal self) which involves labour
and toil for winning the desired objective and goal.
Isma'il al‑Jawharil [14] and
other lexicographers have also defined the word ijtihad in
similar terms. Thus we come to the conclusion that in the light of the
definitions given by the lexicographers ijtihad means
employment of effort and endeavour to one's utmost capacity, and it does not
make any difference whether it is derived from juhd or jahd,as
effort and endeavour are not without strain and toil and accompany each other.
On the basis of this definition, the statements of the two Usuli
scholars, Shaykh Hasan al-Amali al‑Jiba`I [15] and
Akhund al‑Khurasani, [16]and
others about this term, that the literal meaning of ijtihad is
undergoing difficulty and hardship for accomplishing something, appear to be
incomplete and controvertible.
The word ijtihad also occurs in the statements of
the Prophet (S) in the same literal sense. Some examples may be cited here:
Pronounce benedictions over me and be diligent in prayer. [17]
As to the prostration, be diligent (or insistent) in prayer, for
that makes it worthy of acceptance. [18]
The `alim (scholar) is superior to the mujtahid by
a hundred degrees.[19]
In this tradition mujtahid is used in the sense
of `abid (devotee), one who is diligent in `ibadah (worship).
‘A'ishah is reported to have said:
During the last decade of his life the Apostle of God worked
harder than in any period. [20]
Talhah ibn `Ubayd Allah is reported to a stated:
(There were) two men in the days of the Prophet (S), one of whom
surpassed the other in his ijtihad (diligence in worship). The
`diligent one' participated in war and was martyred. [21]
Abu Said al‑Khudri is reported as having said:
Whenever the Apostle of God took an oath (to do something), he
would take pains to fulfil the oath. [22]
The following is reported about `Abd Allah ibn Ubayy in relation
to the campaign of Banu al‑Mustalaq:
He insisted on his oath that he had not done that. [23]
Umm Harithah is reported to have stated in a question she asked
the Prophet (S):
I shall bear with patience if my son is in
Paradise, but if that isn't the case, I shall mourn for him to
the limit of my strength. [24]
In the utterances of the Imams (A) of the Prophet's Ahl al‑Bayt,
too, the word ijtihad is used in its literal sense. Following
are three examples:
In Nahj al‑balaghah, Imam 'Ali (A) states:
It is for you to make effort and to strive, to,
prepare yourselves and to supply yourselves with in this stage of provision
(i.e. this world). [25]
Al‑'Imam al‑Baqir (A) is reported to have said to a group of
Shi`is:
By God, I love your fragrance and (the purity of)
your souls. So strengthen them by means of piety and endeavour (ijtihad).
You should know that you will not approach our wilayah except
by deeds and through endeavour. [26]
Al‑'Imam al‑Sadiq (A) is reported to have said to Said ibn Hilal
al‑Thaqafi:
I advise you to
fear God, to be pious, and to be diligent (in fulfilling your duties). [27]
No comments:
Post a Comment