اجتہاد قرآن و حدیث کی روشنی میں

Ijtihad in the light of Quran and Hadith

Abstract

Ijtihad is derived from effort and is based on the weight of iftaal. It means to try, but this word is not used for a slight effort, rather it means to try hard for something. According to the scholars of Islamic jurisprudence, ijtihad is the name of such an extreme effort of a jurist to find out the Shariah ruling that he is incapable of trying more than he thinks.

The greatest need of a Muslim is that he should know the commands of Allah Almighty in every matter, so that by acting accordingly, he can obtain the rewards of Allah Almighty and avoid the wrath of Allah Almighty. The aim and the focus of all the efforts of a believer is to live according to the will of Allah and His orders. As Allah Ta'ala says: Say, ``My prayer, my prayer, my life, and my death are for the Lord of the Worlds.''

By the pleasure of Allah Ta'ala, His rulings are revealed and the main sources of these rulings are the Book of Allah (the Holy Qur'an) and the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). When the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet are silent on a matter, then using all mental and intellectual abilities to discover such a ruling in which the pleasure of Allah is present is called Ijtihad. It is evident from this that the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ are silent on a matter, then Ijtihad is the only means by which its deficiency can be fulfilled.