SOURCES OF ISLAMIC
CIVILIZATION
AL-ADILLAT AL- IJTIHADIAH
( Exercise Of Judgment )
LITERAL AND
TECHNICAL MEANING
Ijtihad was derived from the word Jahada.
Literally means; striving or self-exertion
Technically means; to spend all effort to
arrive to the truth.
(al-Ghazali)
AUTHORITY OF IJTIHAD
Ijtihad is validated by the Quran, the
Sunnah and the practices of the
Companion.
Verses from Qur’an:
“It is not for the Believers to go to forth
together: if a contingent from every
expedition go forth to devote themselves
to studies in religion, and admonish the
people when they return to them, that thus
they may learn…”
(at –Taubah, 9:122).
Also refer;
al-Ankabut (29:69), al-Nisa’ (4:59 )
The Hadith in which the Prophet
(PBUH) said that the Mujtahid will get
two rewards if he is correct and one
reward if he commits a mistake (Abu
Dawood).
Also refer;
The hadith in which Muadh bin Jabal replied to the Prophet (SM) that
he would resort to Ijtihad.. (Narrated by Abu Dawood).
Narrated Mu'adh ibn jabal: Some companions of
Mu'adh ibn jabal said: When the Apostle of Allah
(s.a.w) intended to send Mu'adh ibn jabal to the
Yemen, he asked: How will you judge when the
occasion of deciding a case arises? He replied: I shall
judge in accordance with Allah's Book. He asked: (What
will you do) if you do not find any guidance in Allah's
Book? He replied: (I shall act) in accordance with the
Sunnah of the Apostle of Allah (s.a.w). He asked: (What
will you do) if you do not find any guidance in the
Sunnah of the Apostle of Allah (s.a.w) and in Allah's
Book? He replied: I shall do my best to form an opinion
and I shall spare no effort. The Apostle of Allah (s.a.w)
then patted him on the breast and said: Praise be to
Allah Who has helped the messenger of the Apostle of
Allah to find something which pleases the Apostle of
Allah.
The time of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq…
Maymun ibn Mahran summed up Abu Bakr's method of arriving at
legal judgments as follows:
Whenever a dispute was referred to him, Abu Bakr used to look in
the Qur'an; if he found something according to which he could
pass a judgment, he did so. If he could not find a solution in the
Qur'an, but remembered some relevant aspect of the Prophet's
Sunnah, he would judge according to that. If he could find
nothing in the Sunnah, he would go and say to the Muslims:
'Such and such a dispute has been referred to me. Do any of
you know anything in the Prophet's Sunnah according to which
judgment may be passed?'. If someone was able to answer his
question and provide relevant information, Abu Bakr would say:
'Praise be to Allah Who has enabled some of us to remember
what they have learnt from our Prophet.' If he could not find
any solution in the Sunnah, then he would gather the leaders
and elite of the people and consult with them. If they agreed on
a matter then he passed judgment on that basis.
The subject matter of Ijtihad is
the practical rules of Shariah
not covered by Nass (the Quran
& Sunnah).
MEANING:
When clear rule is available in
the text (Nass), Ijtihad is not
applicable.
Ijtihad can be practiced by
Competent Scholars who Posses
these Features:
• Good knowledge of Arabic language.
• He must be knowledgeable in the
Quran and the Sunnah and related
subjects.
• He must be knowledgeable of
previous scholars on the Ijtihad
carried out by them.
• He must know the Maqasid of
Shari’ah.
• He must be an upright person
and must be capable of
distinguishing between strong
and weak evidence.
IJMA’
The word ijma’ is derived from jama’.
Meaning: Collecting, gathering
together.
Technically: Ijma’ means composing
and settling a thing which has been
unsettle and hence determining and
resolving upon an affair.
In the terminology of the muslim jurist,
ijma’ means a consensus of opinion of
the mujtahids, or agreement of the
muslim jurist of a particular age on a
question of law.
HISTORY OF IJMA’
Imam Abu Hanifah recognized the
practice of ijma’ stated during the
time of Companion especially during
the time of the four caliph, (ijma’
ahlul Madeenah).
Examples:
Ijtihad/Ijma’ of the Companions
THE AGREEMENT IS INFERRED
IN THREE WAYS
Qaul: the mujtahids expressing their opinion
upon the question)
Fi’l: when there is unanimity in practice
Sukut: when the mujtahids do not controvert
an opinion expressed by one or more of them.
Ijma’ is said to be complete when
all the mujtahids of a particular age
have come to an agreement on a
certain question.
The more mujtahids agreed on a
certain question the more weight
their opinion would be.
SUM-UP
Ijma’ is one of the methods of
ijtihad in usul al-fiqh; in a wider
basis it is always open to correction.
QIYAS
QIYAS:
Analogical Reasoning
Qiyas is the process of analogical
reasoning from a known injunction
(nass) to a new injunction
QIYAS
Literally means measuring the
length, weight or quality of
something.
Technically Qiyas means comparison
to establish equality or similarity
between two things.
Examples of Analogical Approach in
the Qur’an:
In the language of Usul, Qiyas is the
extension of a Shariah ruling from an
original case (Asl) to a new case
(Far') because the new case has the
same effective cause (Illah) as the
original case.
Elaboration:
The original case is regulated by a text
of the Quran or the Sunnah and Qiyas
seeks to extend the original ruling to
the new case.
The emphasis of Qiyas is identification
of a common cause between the
original and new case. Jurists do not
consider law derived through Qiyas as a
new law.
Justification for Validity of Qiyas
• Qiyas is a methodology developed by
jurists through which rulings in new
areas are kept close to the Quran
and Sunnah because new rulings are
based on the Illah (causes)
discovered in the legislation of the
Quran and Sunnah. Rulings on new
areas could diverge a lot, if Qiyas
was not applied.
Find out the illat from the verses given…
Example of Qiyas
For example, qiyas is applied to the
injunction against wine drinking to
create an injunction against cocaine
use.
• Identification of a clear, known thing or action
that might have bear a resemblance to the
modern situation, such as the wine drinking.
• Identification of the ruling on the known thing.
Wine drinking is haraam, prohibited.
• Identification of the reason behind the known
ruling ('illah). For example, wine drinking is
haram because it intoxicates. Intoxication is bad
because it removes muslims from mindfulness of
God. This reason behind the reason is termed
hikmah.
• The reason behind the known ruling is applied to
the unknown thing. For instance cocaine use
intoxicates the user, removing the user from
mindfulness of God. It is therefore prohibited.
The Essential Requirement of Qiyas Are:
• Asl (original case, on which a ruling
has been given)
• Hukm (ruling on the original)
• Illah (cause of ruling in the original
case)
• Far' (new case on which ruling is to
be given).
Conditions pertaining to Hukm
(a ruling in the original case) are :
1. It must be a practical Sharii ruling
(amaliah) Qiyas does not operate in
the area of belief).
2. Sharii ruling must not be an
abrogated one.
3. The Hukm must be amenable to
understanding through human
intellect. (ma’qulul ma’na)
4. Hukm must not be limited to
exceptional situations eg; such as
the prohibition of marriage of
widows of the Prophet (SM) with
others).
CONCLUSION
Law derived through Qiyas can
not be of the same authority as
that of textual ruling (of Quran or
Sunnah).