ijtihad in contemporary context: concept, functions and ... · ijtihad in contemporary context:...

IjtihadinContemporaryContext:Concept,FunctionsandMethods

(27-29)September2016

(BackgroundPaper)

1- VisionandFramework:

Thoughtsontheconceptof“Ijtihad”(juristicdeduction) incontemporaryerahave passed through many different junctures and contexts. Thus, it isnecessarytorevisitandstudyitfromtwoperspectives:First,theawarenessinthe history of ideas, their origins and developments. Second, building uponandbenefitingfromtheseideastoadvancetothefuture.Forexample,agroupofSalafistreformists inDamascushadtried inthe latenineteenthcenturytothink outsidewhat is prevalent, under the title of "Ijtihad". The activities ofthisgroup,asaresult,werebannedandthis incidentwashistoricallynamedthe "mujtahideen incident” (1895) (Mujtahideen, singularmujtahid, a personaccepted as an original authority in Islamic law i.e. someone qualified topractice Ijtihad). On the other hand, the Ottoman reformists (1839- 1876),whobegantheprocessofmodernization,imposedalengthydebatewithinthereligious thought about Ijtihad issues and attitudes towards thosedevelopments and reforms. This debate on the subject of ijtihad continuedamongreformersinEgypt,SyriaandTunisiasinceintheendofthenineteenthcentury then intensified again in the second half of the twentieth century,wheremanywritings appearedon thedefinition, conditions, necessities andapplicationsof Ijtihad,andthequalificationsofthe“mujtahideen”,andotherissues.Manypeoplewithdifferentprofessionsandbeliefshaveengagedinthetalkon Ijtihad,andhencehadvariedmethods,motivesandobjectives inthisregard.

Revivingthehistoryoftheconceptof Ijtihad inthemodernera, itscontexts,functionsandmethods,wouldputtheconceptattheheartoftheintellectualandsocialtransformationsoftheMuslimgroups,whetheratthestageoftheconflictagainstthecolonialWest,duringtheprocessofsearchingforwaystocoexistwithitandinteractwithitsmodernity,orinthecontextoflookingforwaystorenewtheexistenceandtheadvancementofsocietiestothelevelof

theirtimesanddevelopments,whichleftitsimpactonjurisprudencethoughtandreligiousknowledgeduringthisspecificperiodaswell.

The type of Ijtihad which we look forward to in this context is the cross-disciplinary one, i.e., Ijtihad in religion; as the Prophet (PBUH) in his hadithsaid:“thatwhorevivesreligioninourUmmah”notonlyitsjurisprudence,forreligionisanexpressionofman’s“vision”ofhimself,existence,positionintheuniverseandhisrelationwiththeothercreations;eitherinsubmissiontoGodalongwithallothercreaturesorasananomalyfromallothers.Itisalsoman’s(deeds),behaviorandreactiontowardstheuniverseandexistenceasperthisvision, i.e. it is an expression of the relation between the servant and theCreatorthroughtwochannels:thedivineobligationsinrespecttoknowledgeandworkononehand,andthehumancommitmenttoexistenceontheotherhand.

Therefore, this cross-disciplinary Ijtihad would embody the monotheisticvision; as religion is a monotheism that transcends the separation betweenreligionandtheworld,orthedistinctionbetweenthesciencesofknowledgetransmission (resulting from the revelation) and the sciences of the mind(resulting from the perception and experience) towards the Quranicmonotheistic vision, which uses the term "dunya" (world) purely as a timeframenotseparatedfromthemonotheisticmeaningthatseesineveryworldlymaterial circumstance a spiritual otherworldly dimension. Ijtihad heretranscends beyond the logic of Ijtihad of jurisprudence,which is partial andrationingincharacter,towardstheawarenessofhistoryanditsimpactonthemovementofthoughtandthebuildingofconcepts, inadditiontothereviewof themental and intellectual patterns and structures that have dominatedovertheIslamicthinkingthroughouttheancientandmodernhistoricaleras.

It is not the purpose of this seminar to return to fundamental discussions onIjtihad as in the writings of Usul al Fiqh (origins of jurisprudence), and asattemptedbysomecontemporaryresearches,butthegoalis:

1- ToassessthestatusofIjtihadandthoughtinthe(modernera).Bythatwemean the period since theOttoman rule to date. This periodwas rich indebates, interpretations and changes. For example, the reforms byMohammedAbdu,thethesisofMuhammadIqbalonreligiousrenovation,

the concepts byMalik Bin Nabi on the distinctive civilization, Islamiat AlMa’arifa (Islamic knowledge), Al Alamia Al Islamia Al Thania (secondinternationalizationofIslam),andtherenewalofIslamicsciencesespeciallythescienceof“kalam”(speech)andUsulAlFiqh(originsofjurisprudence),aswellasAlWasatiyah(moderation)Islamicmovement,and“AlMuslimAlMuaser”(contemporaryMuslim)magazine.

2- Ijtihadisacapacityandcreativityandnotafunctionrestrictedtoacertaindisciplineorfield;notlimitedtopurejuristicviewsonly,andthedichotomyof halal (permissible) and haram (impermissible) - which is despite of itscentrality-doesnotcoverallthedimensionsofthiscomplexreality.

3- The debate here aims mainly to overcome the state of the "systemicambiguity" through the establishment of an integrated and cross-disciplinaryapproachwhichcombinesthetransmittedwiththeintellectual;a comprehensive approach that includes the application of Ijtihad to thedevelopmentsandtheinheritedtogether,withinitspartialandtotallevels.Thetotalherecannotbeidentifiedwithoutextrapolatingthetotalfromthepartial, nor we can deal with the partial without adjusting the totalsystematically.Therelatedobjectivesoftheformerare:rethinkingontheapproaches of Ijtihad as raised in the modern era (revelation, history,culture, modernity, constant and variable whether in the text or in thetradition,definitiveorspeculative,andtextorobjective...)

4- Identifying Ijtihad in terms of maqasid (objectives) in theory andapplication, i.e. to recognize the objectives of Ijtihad whether thepreemptive or compulsory; because Ijtihad is not an endwe seek, but ameanswhichhelpsustoachievereligiousdutyasanexpressionofhumanvision towardshimself/herself, in regard toexistenceandownposition intheuniverseaswellasrelationwithothercreations.

2.QuestionsandSuggestedTitles:

Submittedresearchesshouldbeconfiguredwithinthepreviousvision,andshouldencompassthefollowingquestions:

1)WhatarethelimitsoftheconceptofIjtihad?Itsfunctionorfunctions?

(A reading in the trends and objectives of Ijtihad a given period andevaluatingit.DeterminingtheanticipatedobjectivesofIjtihadinthefuture.A critical review of the present types of Ijtihad: structural, selective,individualandcollective,andthedimensionsoftheanticipatedIjtihad).

2) What is the methodology of Ijtihad in light of the multiplicity anddevelopment of knowledge and in light of the complexities of reality?(Cross-disciplinary Ijtihad; its mechanisms of implementation, who is acontemporary Mujtahid, and what are his qualifications in the age ofspecialization? The limits of Ijtihad and the scope of individual andcollectiveijtihad).

Itisalsoimportanttoprovidepracticalexamplestodemonstratethesuitabilityofthesuggestedmethodologyforapplicationinthefieldsofpolitics,economics,sociologyandothers;sincetheeffectivenessofanyapproachliesinitsapplicabilityandmeetingthecognitiveandpracticalneeds.

ExamplesoftheProposedTitles:

• Theconceptofijtihadbetweenthejuristicterminologyandtheintegrationofknowledge

• Evaluationoftheoreticalthesesofreformistsandothers• EvaluationofcontemporaryexperiencesofIjtihadinthemodernstate• ThepossibilityofinvestingthesocialsciencesinthetopicofIjtihadand

juristicIjtihad• Medicalknowledgeandareasofinvestingtheminthetwotypesofjuristic

andverbalIjtihad• Politicalsciencesandtheoriesandthemethodstoinvesttheminthearea

ofIjtihad• IjtihadandtheconflictofSharia(IslamicLaw),lawandregulationsinlight

ofthemodernstate• Philosophyandthephilosophyofreligionandthepossibilitiesofemploying

theminconstructingtheanticipatedIjtihad• TowardsanewmethodologyinIjtihadthatismultiindisciplinesandfields• Theconceptof“Islami”(Islamic)inIslamicIjtihad

Andallothersthatfallwithintheoutlinedvisionandframework.