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Ijtihad & Taqlid
Author : Dr. Hassan Abu_Arqoub
Date Added : 27-01-2020

Ijtihad & Taqlid

 

 

Ijtihad and Taqlid represent a controversial issue for students of Sharia. This article will provide answers for the following questions: Who is a Mujtahid? What are the requirements of a Mujtahid? What are the levels of Mujtahids? Who is a Muqalid? Whom does a Muqalid follow? Is a Muqalid obligated to follow a particular Madhab? Is a Muqalid allowed to follow other Madhabs?

First: Ijtihad

Definition of Ijtihad:

Ijtihad refers to the effort and critical thinking necessary to arrive at a properly formulated legal conclusion.

Some rulings of Ijtihad:

Ijtihad is considered a religious duty for those qualified to perform it.

Ruling when there is no practitioner of Ijtihad in a certain era:

From mental and religious perspectives, a practitioner of Ijtihad could be lacking in a certain era; be he a Mujtahid Mutlaq "Absolute Mujtahid" or not.

Ruling when Ijtihad is performed on particular aspects of Islamic Jurisprudence:

Practicing Ijtihad on certain aspects of Islamic Jurisprudence is permissible because some Mujtahids are qualified in certain areas of jurisprudence.

Ruling when a Mujtahid delivers the correct ruling or makes a mistake:

When a Mujtahid utilizes his skill of judgment and comes to a right decision, he will have a double reward, but when he uses his judgement and commits a mistake, he will have a single reward.

Ruling on nullifying someone`s Ijtihad:

It isn`t permissible to nullify someone`s Ijtihad unless it contradicts a text from the Quran or Sunna, Ijma` or Qiyas.

Second: Taqlid

Definition of Taqlid:

Taqlid is to follow the opinion of a scholar without knowing the evidence on which it is based.

Some rulings of Taqlid:

It is incumbent on the non-practitioner of Ijtihad, whether he might be an ordinary person or a scholar who didn`t reach the level of Mujtahid Mutlaq, to follow a Mujtahid, because Allah The Almighty Says (What means): "ask the people of knowledge if you don`t know" [An-Nahil/43]. However, it isn`t permissible for the Mujtahid who has met the requirements of Ijtihad to follow the opinion of another scholar.

Ruling on following another Madhab (School of thought):

It isn`t incumbent on the one who hasn`t reached the level of Mujtahid  to follow a particular Madhab; rather, he may seek Fatwa from different Madhabs.

Ruling on following other than the four Madhabs:

Some scholars permitted following, on the individual level, opinions of scholars from other than the four Madhabs, but not for Fatwas and the justice system, provided that the opinions are well authenticated.

Some scholars banned following the opinions of other than the four Madhabs, because they weren`t documented, their conditions and restrictions are unknown and they didn`t reach us through many ensured lines of transmission.

 

The published article reflects the opinion of its author

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on praying seated due to severe obesity, given that I experience hardship in performing the prayer — especially when rising from the ground after sujūd to perform the next rak‘ah?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Standing, when one is able to do so, is a pillar of the prayer. However, whoever would experience severe, intolerable hardship, or fears harm to himself or to a limb due to obesity, or finds that standing causes him to lose his khushū‘ (humble focus and concentration) in prayer, then there is no objection to his praying seated on a chair or on the ground, performing rukū‘ (bowing) and sujūd (prostration) through gesture — provided that the gesture for sujūd is made lower than that for rukū‘. Whoever is able, at any point, to properly perform any one of these pillars, is obligated to perform it in full; for omitting it is a concession that applies only in cases of genuine inability. The Prophet ﷺ said: "When I command you to do something, do of it whatever you are able." (Related by al-Bukhārī). As the scholars of fiqh have established: what remains possible is not waived on account of what is difficult.
The criterion for determining genuine inability, as chosen by Imam al-Ḥaramayn al-Juwaynī (raḥimahullāh), is that the worshipper experiences hardship that causes him to lose his khushū‘.
As for voluntary (nafl) prayer, there is no objection to performing it while seated, even if one is able to stand. However, rukū‘ and sujūd must still be performed [in their proper physical form] by anyone who is able to do so. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

Is it a condition that a woman should untie her locks while making Ghusl (ritual bath)?

Ghusl from Janabah (ritual impurity), or menstruation obligates that water reaches the roots of the hair in order for the Ghusl to be valid, but if it doesn`t, then hair locks must be untied for water to reach them, and for Ghusl to become valid.

What is the ruling on combining more than one intention in the prayer, such as combining the *sunnah* of wuḍūʾ with the pre-Dhuhr *sunnah*, or combining the *sunnah* of greeting the mosque (*taḥiyyat al-masjid*) with the pre-Dhuhr *sunnah*?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
Combining two intentions in a single act of worship, which some jurists call the “overlapping of acts of worship”, has several cases and precise rules. These can be consulted in the books of legal maxims, such as al-Manthūr fī al-Qawāʿid al-Fiqhiyyah by al-Zarkashī and al-Ashbāh wa’l-Naẓāʾir by al-Suyūṭī. Among the most important of these rules:
First: If all of the acts of worship that one wishes to combine under one intention are obligatory, the intentions do not overlap. An example is combining the intention of the obligatory ʿAṣr prayer with that of the obligatory Dhuhr prayer. The intentions do not overlap in this case.
Second: If the two acts are specified supererogatory prayers (nawāfil muqayyadah) that are aimed at in themselves because of a particular time, occasion, or cause, or if they are an obligatory prayer and a specified supererogatory prayer, the intentions again do not overlap. An example is the Duha prayer, which may not be combined with, for instance, the regular sunnah of Dhuhr.
It is stated in Bushrā al-Karīm: “Whatever is not, in meaning, an absolute voluntary prayer, such as the Duha sunnah… is not subsumed under another. Rather, if he intends something else along with it… the prayer is not validly entered. This is because combining two obligations, two specified supererogatory prayers, or an obligation and a specified supererogatory prayer invalidates the prayer in cases not built upon overlapping, as ritual purification (ṭahārah) is.”
Third: If the two acts are absolute voluntary prayers (nawāfil muṭlaqah), or one of them is, where the texts of the Sharīʿah show that the aim of the voluntary act is to fill the time with worship, then overlapping of intentions is permissible. An example is the obligatory Dhuhr prayer together with the sunnah of greeting the mosque (taḥiyyat al-masjid). And Allah Almighty knows best.

Is it incumbent on a father to cover the marriage costs of his son if the latter couldn`t afford them?

The son should seek the help of his relatives in order to convince his father to do the aforesaid, and the father should make sure that his son doesn`t commit fornication through helping him to get married, and Allah will reward him for doing so.

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