Ijtihad

Makalah Hukum Bisnis

IJTIHAD

During the Prophet’s life the Muslim community respected the Prophet’s authority as their spiritual guide, community leader as well as a trusted and respected individual. He intervened in cases of controversy and the muslims listened and obeyed his advice. However, this did not negate the benefits of using ijtihad, or independent  judgment.

There Prophet encouraged the believers to apply the principles of ijtihad to their everiday lives. For example, it is reported that when the Prophet appointed Mu’adh bin Jabbal governor of Yemen, he asked him what he would do in case an issue arises. Mu’adh said he would first refer to the Qur’an and then to the teachings of Muhammad. The Prophet then askes him what he would do if there is no clear answer from these sources. Mu’adh answered that he would do the best he could and use his personal judgment. The Prophet was satisfied with his answer.

After the death of the Prophet, the right of interpreting the Quranic regulations was not the privilege of any special official body, but laymen could do it. To prevent individuals from practticing ijtihad haphazardly, al-Shafi’i developed a methodology for using ijtihad in his book, al-Risalah. Since then, the role of ijtihad has not been in the hands of the laymen. Rather, only select experts in islamic law could do ijtihad. These people are Fuqaha or Muslim jurist. They issued fatwa or religious decisions. Today in many Muslim countries, many Islamic decisions from personal of political issue are fatwas of Fuqaha.