Modes of Ijtihad in the Judgements of the Khulafa al- Rashidun

Abstract

Ijtihad literally means ‘exertion’. Defined by the fuqaha' as the endeavour of the qualified jurist to discover the legal injunctions of the shari'ah, it is accepted as a valid source of law. The early fuqaha' such as Ibn Abi Layla, Abu Hanifah, and Malik b. Anas use the term ijtihad in a broad sense of al-ra'y, considered opinion or sound judgement. The fuqaha' generally apply various methods of ijtihad only when it becomes absolutely necessary to do so. In the areas dealing with 'ibadat or huquq Allah, there is generally no need to apply the secondary sources of law, particularly in regard to the basic principles of Islam. However, social and political problems lend themselves to continual application of ijtihad. To keep pace with development in the social, political, legal and economic fields it was felt necessary that a corresponding and more sophisticated development of the principle of ijtihad should take place. Thus the new modes of ijtihad like qiyas, istihsan, al-masalih al-mursalah, and istidlal, came into existence to cope with problems faced by the jurists...