CSS Solved Islamiyat Past Paper 2022 | Concept and Importance of Ijtehad
The following question of Islamiat is solved by Miss Ayesha Irfan, the highest scorer in CSS Islamiat. Moreover, the question is attempted on the same pattern taught by Sir Syed Kazim Ali to his students, scoring the highest marks in compulsory subjects for years. This solved past paper question is uploaded to help aspirants understand how to crack a topic or question, how to write relevantly, what coherence is, and how to include and connect ideas, opinions, and suggestions to score the maximum.
Question Breakdown
The examiner asked for a proper explanation of the Concept and Importance of Ijtehad in this question. However, providing a summary of types of Ijtehad is crucial to achieving high grades in Islamic studies. After it addressed the major portion of the question with pertinent examples act like a carry on top. This section can be explained by citing the principles of Ijtehad briefly.
Outline
1-Introduction
2- Concept of ijtehad in Islam
3- Importance of ijtehad according to Quran
4- Importance of ijtehad according to the Prophet’s life
5- Principles of ijtehad according to Islam
- ✓Knowledge of the Quran and Hadith
- ✓Understanding of the Arabic language
- ✓Familiarity with the principles of Islamic jurisprudence
- ✓Contextual consideration
- ✓Consultation with other scholars
5- Conclusion
Answer to the Question
Introduction
In Islamic law, the process of reaching a decision through independent interpretation of the legal sources—the Qur’an and the Sunnah—is referred to as ijtihad. An individual who utilized ijtihad is referred to as a mujtahid and is traditionally required to be an alim, or scholar of Islamic law. Nevertheless, the Arabic root juhd is the source of both this word and the word jihad. The term “ijtihad” refers to the effort or striving necessary for any endeavor that involves some degree of hardship. Ijtihad means intellectual effort, whereas juhd implies carrying a heavy load. The Hadith, which is a conversation between the Prophet and Muadh Ibn Jabl, a qadi, while the latter was traveling to al-Yaman to serve as judge, is regarded by jurists as the source of the principle of Ijtihad. The Prophet questioned him about how he would make decisions on issues that came up. Muadh declared, “I shall judge matters in accordance with the Qur’an.” “If the Book of God contains nothing to guide me, I will acts on the precedents of the Prophet of God, and if it is not in that either, then I will make a personal effort [Ijtihad] and judge according to that” . It is said that the Prophet was extremely happy with the response. Therefore, the rule of interpretation is crucial when there is silence on the subjects covered by the revealed sources of law. As a result, ijtihad is acknowledged as one of the sources of Islamic law alongside the Quran and Sunnah, albeit not as a source that is identical to them.
Concept of Ijtehad in Islam
In its literal sense, ijtihad means to strive, exert, self-endeavor, or to make an effort to deduce a principle and to exert oneself to the fullest. Legally speaking, however, it refers to jurists’ extreme efforts to extract legal principles and norms from evidence contained in sacred texts of sources. Ijtihad means exercising one’s judgment or opinion in a jurisprudential sense. This means that when there is no explicit or implicit Divine rulings, one should consider what is more in line with reason and taste, or closer to justice and truth, or comparable to other Islamic laws, and then apply that decision.
The importance of Ijtehad according to Quran
Surah An-Nisa’ 83 is a specific verse that promotes searching out information in order to make decisions:
اور جب ان کے پاس امن یا خوف کی کوئی خبر پہنچتی ہے تو اس کو مشہور کردیتے ہیں اور اگر اس کو پیغمبر اور اپنے سرداروں کے پاس پہنچاتے تو تحقیق کرنے والے اس کی تحقیق کر لیتے اور اگر تم پر خدا کا فضل اور اس کی مہربانی نہ ہوتی تو چند اشخاص کے سوا سب شیطان کے پیرو ہوجاتے
And if any tidings, whether of safety or fear, come unto them, they noise it abroad, whereas if they had referred it to the messenger and to such of them as are in authority, those among them who are able to think out the matter would have known it. If it had not been for the grace of Allah upon you and His mercy ye would have followed Satan, save a few (of you).
The phrase “to such other persons as are in authority” (ulul amri) in Arabic refers to men who hold positions of authority or who are able to seek out information. The Quran thus promotes ijtihad, but it also says that the Prophet and ulul amr, or men with authority, power, wisdom, and understanding, should perform this function.
The importance of Ijtehad according to the Holy Prophet(PBUH)
Beyond the Quran and the Sunnah, ijtihad is the primary source of Islamic law. The significance of ijtehad was emphasized above all by the Prophet Muhammad. In the well-known and renowned hadith, Muaz bin Jabal is named Governor of Yemen; the Prophet asked him: “0 Muaz, by what rule would you be guided?”. He responded with “By the Law of the Quran”. “But if you find no direction therein?” the Prophet inquired. “Then I will act according to the Sunnah of the Prophet,” Muaz responded.
“What if that doesn’t help?” he was asked again. “I will act based on my judgment,” he replied. The Prophet showed satisfaction and gratitude to God, saying, “Praise be to Allah, who guides the Messenger of His Apostle as He pleases.” This hadith indicates the Prophet’s endorsement of the ijtihad concept. It additionally demonstrates that the companions of the Prophet were aware of the concept of ijtihad and freely applied it in response to changing circumstances.
Basic Principles of Ijtehad
A fundamental doctrine of Islamic jurisprudence, ijtihad permits Islamic law to be flexible and adaptive. One of the fundamental principles of ijtihad is that jurists cannot make well-informed legal decisions unless they have a thorough understanding of the Islamic scriptures, especially the Quran and Hadith. Moreover, because the Quran and Hadith are written in Arabic, a jurist must speak the language well in order to understand and interpret them correctly. Furthermore, in order to apply Islamic legal reasoning techniques in legal decision-making, a jurist needs to be well-versed in them. The mujtahid’s position is to determine the authenticity of the source(s) and then find out laws by analyzing the sources. Further, Use qiyas to apply laws to new circumstances that are similar to those mentioned in the sources but cannot be discovered through literal interpretation.Furthermore, jurists go into extensive detail about the rules and limitations of interpretation, analogy, istihsan, and istislah. The mujtahid, whose primary function is to explain and articulate God’s rule in a given situation, carries the grave responsibility of explaining God’s Will to His creatures, both individually and collectively. The mujtahid defines the hukm shar’i(God’s will) as “the communication from God, related to the acts of subjects through an ultimatum, option, or declaration.”
For instance, according to Imam al-Sadiq, It is your responsibility to explain the implications of court decisions, and it is our responsibility to teach you the fundamentals. Except to these, when making a legal decision, a jurist must consider the social, cultural, and historical context. Last but not least, to guarantee the soundness of their rulings, jurists should confer with other authorities on Islamic law. According to Imam Al-Ghazali, “While eight different areas of knowledge are required for ijtihad, four are essential, and the others are only introductory. The essentials are the Qur’an, Sunnah, consensus, and intellect. The first are Methodology of Argument, Arabic Grammar, knowledge of ‘abrogator and the abrogated’, and the ability to recognize authentic hadith”.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, after the Quran and Sunnah, Ijtihad is the primary source of Islamic law. The primary distinction between divine revelation and prophetic law having ended with the death of the Prophet, and the ongoing development of ijtihad, is what sets it apart from the revealed sources of the shariah. The practice of ijtihad was evident during the reign of Caliph Muhammad, as Ali continued to apply it despite the clear prohibitions of the Quran and Sunnah. Therefore, unless the legal system is completely redesigned, ijtihad is only used in a peripheral manner in the modern era. It cannot be used in any other way. Ijtihad will, therefore, need to be altered in order for it to be appropriately repurposed within a new Islamic framework to bring about contemporary legal reform.
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