Ijtihad is an Islamic legal term that refers to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurists mental faculty in finding a solution to a legal question. It is a process of legal reasoning and hermeneutics through which the jurist-mujtahid derives or rationalizes law on the basis of the Quran and the Sunna. Ijtihad is considered to be a religious duty for those qualified to perform it. The word ijtihad derives from the three-letter Arabic verbal root of ج-ه-د J-H-D (jahada, struggle) and in its literal meaning, the word refers to effort, physical or mental, expended in a particular activity.
According to classical Sunni theory, ijtihad requires expertise in the Arabic language, theology, revealed texts, and principles of jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh), and is not employed where authentic and authoritative texts (Quran and Hadith) are considered unambiguous with regard to the question, or where there is an existing scholarly consensus (ijma). Over time, individuals’ qualifications to exercise ijtihad were organized into levels, ranging from the absolute mujtahid, who was bound by no precedent and free to develop his own interpretive principles, to the absolute muqallid (“follower,” “layperson”), who was required to follow authoritative jurists unquestioningly.
In early Islam, ijtihad was a commonly used legal practice, and was well integrated with the philosophy of kalam, its secular counterpart. It slowly fell out of practice for several reasons, most notably the efforts of the Asharite theologians, who saw it as leading to errors of over-confidence in judgment. By the 16th century, Sunni jurists had widely come to the conclusion that ijtihad was no longer an option in any but truly novel legal cases. However, since the 19th century, reformers have used the call for renewed ijtihad as a rallying cry to campaign for legal reforms and to critique the schools of law.
In contemporary Shīʿism, a broadly similar understanding of ijtihād and its antithesis taqlīd (unquestioning conformity to precedent and tradition) exists, although Shīʿites generally consider ijtihād to be an ongoing process. Lay individuals are required to follow a living practitioner of ijtihād who is certified as a mujtahid through study in a seminary.
