October 23, 2012

Fethullah Gulen on "Ijtihad – Independent Reasoning"

Q: The subject of ijtihad (independent reasoning) has been debated in the Muslim world for a long time. Some thought that the door of ijtihad was closed, and of course this caused a stagnation of reasoning. What might be the criteria to use the methodology of ijtihad?

Fethullah Gulen: The word Ijtihad, independent reasoning, literally means “to use all your power and effort in order to bring some hard and difficult works into existence.” In Islamic terminology, the word means “to use all your power to deduct some hypothetical judicial decisions from the clear sources (adilla-i tafsiliyyah) of Islamic law.” The one who makes this effort is called a Mujtahid. The issue in which these efforts are made is called Mujtahadun fih.