| المستخلص: |
All praise is due to God and peace and blessings be upon the seal of Prophets Islamic jurisprudence is like a living being that develops and grows. It emerged with the revelation of the Qur`an, flourished during the time of the Prophet, the Rightly Guided Caliphs and the Tab’ieen, and reached its maturity from 2 AH up until the middle of 4 AH. It is a known fact that both the Holy Qur`an and the Sunnah do not address in detail all issues and incidents to which man is exposed. For this reason, jurists found it necessary to exert effort in order to infer rulings in light of the primary texts and opinions of the Companions and Tab’ieen. The four schools of jurisprudence were codified during this period, followed by a period of scholarly stagnation where taqlid and opposition to any exercise of ijtihad prevailed. The claim that “the door of is closed” came to the fore at this time under the pretext that many of those who do not possess the necessary qualifications were practicing ijtihad. In spite of this, these eras were not entirely devoid of mujtahid scholars who proved that the gate of ijtihad was still open to those who are qualified to practice it. Our modern time necessitates group ijtihad that is based on consultation and practiced by specialists. In addition, recourse must be made to experts with regard to unprecedented matters such as banking transactions and some medical issues. This does not, however, prevent scholars from exercising individual ijtihad that, in turn, must be reviewed by a juristic assembly or scholarly symposium. It is possible to invest the issue of true and erroneous ijtihad in positively directing the wheel of modern life without either precluding its practice altogether or leaving the door wide open for unqualified persons to advance aberrant fatwas that have no relation whatsoever to correct ijtihad. This research paper is an endeavor to shed light on the importance of ijtihad, its conditions, and scope of application. It also considers the possibility that a mujtahid might be either right or wrong in his conclusions and that there is no harm in arriving at an erroneous position. Moreover, it demonstrates that the truth is one with God the Almighty. Whoever seeks it through ijtihad and fails to reach it is not a disbeliever or corrupt. Truth is not confined to a certain person and it is impossible to compel people to follow a specific opinion in matters whose ruling is arrived at through ijtihad — persistence in doing so is nothing but a waste of time and effort and fragments the Islamic community.
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