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Bismillah Ir-Rahman, Ir-Raheem. I begin with ALLAH's auspiciousness,whose Name is the Best among all the names. All Revences, All Sanctities and All Worships are due to ALLAH alone. Ashahadu An Laa illaaha illal llahu
Wa Ash Hadu Anna Muhammadan Abdu Hu Wa Rasooluhu
''I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah
who is without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) is the Rasool.''
"O Allah, Shower Your Peace come upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have brought peace to Ibrahim and his family.
Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious. O Allah, Shower your blessing upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious". Iam Satisfied with Allâh as My Rabb and Cherisher,Iam Satisfied With Islam as My Din(religion) and I am satisfied with Muhammad as a Rasulallah (Messenger)sallallahu alaihi was salam) I seek Protection with ALLAH! With the Glorious and Noble Face of ALLAH! With the Complete and Perfect words of ALLAH! With the Exalted Attributes of ALLAH! From the Punishment of Hell; From chastisement in the Grave; From the Trial of Life and Death; From the Mischief of the dajjal. There is no power nor strength with (anyone) save Allah. ALLAH is Good and Only accept that which is Good. ALLAH is the Truth and only accept that which True. ALLAH is Pure and only accept that which is Pure. Ya ALLAH! ALL the praises are for You,You are the Holder of the Heavens and the Earth, And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All praises are for You; You are are the Substaner of the Heavens and the Earth And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All the praises are for you;You have the Possession of the Heavens and the Earth and whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All the praises are for You; You are Light(Nur) of the Heavens and Earth And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All praises are for You; You are the King of the Heavens and the Earth And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All praises are for You; You are the Truth and Your Promise is the Truth, And Your word is the Truth and the Meeting with You is true, And Parardise is True And Hell is true and All the Prophets(peace be upon them) are true; And Muhammad Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) is true,And the Day of Resurrection is True. Ya ALLAH! You have promise and Your promise is the truth,Ya ALLAH! You have promise and Your words is the truth, Ya ALLAH! You have promise and You are the Truth!.------------------------------------------------------------------------- IJTIHAD (part2) {IJTIHAD: OF RASULALLAH(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)THE SAHABAH DURING HIS LIFETIME. {IJTIHAD: OF RASULALLAH(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)THE SAHABAH DURING HIS LIFETIME. Among Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)'s Sahabahs there was a sizable number of such great intelligent persons who were competent to solve problems through their ijtihad. 1 They were capable of offering personal opinions and solving the current issues by their God-given juristic insight. A good number of them such as Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab, 'Amr ibn al-'As, Sa'd ibn Mu'adh and Sa'd ibn 'Ubbadah were well known for their wisdom, intelligence and competence in personal reasoning even during the pre-lslamic period. When they entered the fold of islam, their spiritual purity, and intellectual enlightenment grew further. Their conversion to Islam did not impede their reasoning skills or intellectual qualities, but Islam enhance their reasoning skills or intellectual qualities. Instead ALLAH commanded Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)’s Sahabah through the revelation to utilize their thinking power and reasoning capacity. The Holy Qur'an says, "Contemplate, O you who are endowed with insight" (59:2)There is severe condemnation against those who don't utilize their faculty of reason, the Qur'an says, “They have hearts with which they do not understand, and they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do no hear. Those persons are like animals, even more worse.” (7:179) Nevertheless, the Sahabah had a unique privilege and opportunity to confer with Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam). Sometimes, when they were not clear about an issue they asked him. At other times, they exercised their personal reasoning. Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) was the cradle of Allah's revelation which was the highest authority and most superior source of knowledge. In the second place of authority was Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)'s own personal opinion. If there was any conflict between Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)'s ijtihad and divine revelation, the latter superseded the former as in the case of Khawlah bint Tha'labah of the Khazraj tribe. Her husband Aws ibn Samit of the Aws tribe divorced her by an old Arabian custom known as "zihar" whereby a husband could divorce his wife by simply declaring “You are to me as my mother's back.” In old Arabian society as well as in the early days of Islam, this mode of divorce was considered final and so severe that it prevented the wife from ever returning to her husband and there was no possibility of remarriage between them. Khawlah pleaded this case before Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) who had not yet received any new divine commandment about this kind of divorce. He told Khawlah that the divorce was effective and complete, and she was forbidden from returning to her husband. After a while the divine revelation came down which stated that the zihar was no longer a divorce (Qur'an 58:1-4). Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam), on receiving this revelation, told Khawlah that she was not divorced, and her marriage bond was still safe and sound. The sahabahs' ijtihad was in third place as an authority. It came after Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)'s ijtihad. In the event of conflicting opinions, the latter superseded the earlier as in the case of Ibn al-Latbiyyah who was appointed by Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)as a tax collector in Banu Sulaym. When he came back to Medina, he had many valuable goods with him. He handed them to Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)but kept a portion which he described as a gift presented to him by Banu Sulaym. In his consideration that portion was his property because the people of that region offered it to him out of their free will as a gift, not as a part of tax. Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)did not agree with his reasoning, opining that he was offered that gift due to his official position. Had it not been for his position, no one would have given him anything. Therefore, that portion was also state's property, not the collector's 3. Based upon this reasoning, Ibn al-Latbiyyah changed his opinion and presented the goods to Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam). Sometimes, Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) accepted his Sahabahs' ijtihad and changed his personal opinion as it happened on the occasion of Badr. When Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) decided to camp at a certain place, one of his Sahabah, Hubab ibn al-Mundhir al-Khazraji, came to him and asked whether stopping at that location was commandment of Allah, or it was a matter of opinion and strategy of war. When he replied that it was merely a matter of opinion and strategy of war, the sahabah said, then that was not the place to halt, and suggested another place. Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) agreed with him and carried it out. In fact, the ijtihad of Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)'s Sahabah during his lifetimes is a historical reality which should not be disputed among scholars.
IJTIHAD IN Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)'S PRESENCE. Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) encouraged his sahabah to seek knowledge, utilize their reasoning ability, and benefit mankind. It was due to his encouragement that on several occasions, they exercised their ijtihad and practiced their personal reasoning in presence of Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam). Sometimes he himself asked them for their opinion and reasoning, while at the other times they expressed it without his demand. 1. In the 5th year of Hijra, Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) received news that a large army of Quraysh was about to march to attack Medina. He summoned his sahabah for consultation. Several suggestions were expressed as to what would be the best plan for defense. Salman al-Farisi said: "Ya Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)! In Persia, when we feared an attack (of horsemen), we would surround ourselves with a trench. Let us dig a trench around us now." Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) accepted Salman's suggestions and ordered the digging of a trench to defend the city of Medina. 2. During the Battle of the Trench ten thousand troops of Quraysh, Banu Ghatafan, and their allies besieged Medina. 3. This siege was prolonged and the strain on the Muslims increased. Food was beginning to run short and many of the weak in faith, unnerved by hunger, cold, and lack of sleep were losing strength to resist. Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) tried to weaken the power of the enemy by splitting them. One night, he sent word to 'Uyaynah ibn Hisn, the chief of Banu Ghatafan, offering him one third of the date harvest of Medina if he would quit the Quraysh and turn back along with his men. But 'Uyaynah demanded half of the dates of Medina. Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) sent for Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, the chief of Banu Aws, and Sa'd ibn 'Ubbadah, the chief of Banu Khazraj. He said, "Uyaynah has asked me half of your dates for leaving Quraysh along with his men and deserting the allied forces, while I offered him one third. However, he refused to accept my offer and insisted on one half. What is your opinion?" They replied, "Ya Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) if you have been commanded by Allah about something, then do it." Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) replied: "If I were commanded by Allah I would not consult you. It is just my personal opinion which I am presenting to you for discussion." They said: "Then our opinion is not to give them but sword." Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) agreed with them and accepted their opinion. 3. After the Battle of the Trench, Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) (along with his Sahabah) went to the Banu Qurayzah who had broken their agreement with Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) and sided with the Meccan forces against the Muslims. This tribe was an ally of the Banu Aws in the pre-lslamic period. The men of Aws requested Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) to show the same leniency toward their former allies as he had shown toward Banu Qaynuqa' who had been the allies of Banu Khazraj. He said, "Would you be satisfied if one of you pronounces judgment upon them?" They agreed. He entrusted it to their chief Sa'd ibn Mu'adh who was injured during the Battle of the Trench and whose wounds had not yet healed. Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) had placed him in the tent of Rufaydah in his mosque at Medina so that he might visit him more often. Rufaydah was a nurse from Banu Aslam. This expert Muslim lady used to tend and treat the wounded people. Some of the clansmen of Sa'd went to him and mounted him on a donkey. They brought him to Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) saying to him on their way, "Do well to your confederates for Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) has set you in judgment upon them merely to treat them with kindnesses." When they repeated their request again and again, he said, "The time has come for Sa'd to give no heed to the blame of the blamer in the cause of Allah.'' Sa'd was a man of majestic and handsome appearance and a mighty stature. When he approached the camp, Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)said, “Stand up in the honor of your chief.” They rose to greet him and said, “Father of 'Amr, Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) has appointed you to judge the case of your confederates.” He said, “Do you swear by Allah and make by Him your covenant that my judgment will be the verdict upon them?” “We do”' they answered. “And is it binding upon him who is here?” He added, with a glance in the direction of Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam), but not mentioning him out of reverence. “It is,” said Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam). “Then I judged.” said Sa'd, “that the men of Banu Qurayzah should be slain, the property divided and the women and children made captive.” Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)said to him: “You have judged with the judgment of Allah from above the seven heavens.” 4. On the occasion of Badr Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) along with his men camped at the first well he came to, near the field of Badr. One of his Sahabah, Hubab ibn al-Mundhir al-Khazraji, who was famous for his solidity of opinion and skillfulness in the war affairs, said, “Ya Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) , this place where we are now, has Allah revealed it to you to halt here then we should neither advance nor retreat from it, or is it a matter of opinion and strategy of war?” He replied it was merely a matter of opinion and strategy of war, whereupon Hubab said, “Ya Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) then this is not the place to halt, but take the people on until you come to the well which is nearest to the enemy. Let us halt there, and stop up the wells that lie beyond it, and make there for ourselves a cistern and fill it up with water, then we will fight the enemy. We will drink the water while they will have nothing to drink.” Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) considered this opinion as the best one and carried out the plan of Hubab in every detail. 5. When Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) moved closer to the valley of Badr, another Sahabah Sa'd ibn Mu'adh the chief of Banu Aws, came to him and said, “Ya Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) , let us build for you a shelter behind the battle field where you should stay, and put beside you your riding camels in readiness. Then we will meet our enemy. If Allah strengthens us and makes us victorious over them, that is what we fervently desire. But if something else happens you can mount your camels, and join those people who are left behind. For, Ya Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) , our love for you is not greater than those Muslims who are left behind. If they had known that you would meet with war they would have not stayed behind. Allah will protect you through them. They will give you good counsel and fight at your side.” Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) appreciated his concern and invoked blessings upon him. Then the shelter was built with branches of palms, and he stayed there during the fighting. 6. The Battle of Badr left seventy soldiers of the enemy dead and seventy captured. Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)consulted his Sahabah regarding the treatment of the captives. The Sahabah expressed various opinions. Abu Bakr suggested their release on ransom. He said, “Ya Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) , they are your people, and your family. Preserve them alive. Maybe Allah would turn to them with His mercy. Take from them ransom and strengthen your followers by that money.” 'Umar ibn al-Khattab advised him to kill all of them. He said, “Ya Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam), these people accused you of lying, expelled you from Mecca and fought against you. They are the leaders of infidelity. Allah has made you free from the money of their ransom. Bring them forward and cut their heads off.” ‘Abdullah ibn Rawahah said, “Ya Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) , find a valley of plentiful firewood and burn up these captives in the fire.” Sa'd ibn Mu'adh insistently said, “Ya Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) , kill them and do not take the ransom.” Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) accepted the suggestion of Abu Bakr and released the captives for ransom. 7. On the occasion of Hudaybiyah, when the Quraysh did not let Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)enter Mecca to perform the pilgrimage to its holy shrine, a treaty was signed between him and the Quraysh on their terms. According to it, the Muslims had to return to Medina that year without performing the pilgrimage, however, they were allowed to come back next year and perform the ritual rites of the holy shrine of the Ka'bah. Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) asked his Sahabah to rise, sacrifice their sacrificial animals, and then shave their heads. He repeated it a second and a third time, but no one moved. They were perplexed by this demand because, according to pilgrimage tradition, the sacrifices had to be performed within the sacred territory of Mecca after some special ritual rites. The field of Hudaybiyah was outside of the Meccan sanctuary, and they had not yet performed the other special rituals. Besides this, perhaps, they regarded the sacrifice at Hudaybiyah as a victory for the Quraysh, which they did not like. Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) was somewhat dismayed by their silence. He withdrew to his tent and told his wife Umm Salamah about the situation, wondering what was the matter with the people. She said, “Ya Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)you know their deep sadness and grief which has seized them. Say no word to any man. Go to your sacrificial animal and sacrifice it, then call for your barber who should shave your head.” Carrying out the advice of Umm Salamah, Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) went out and did not speak to anyone. He sacrificed his animal, and then called for his barber who shaved his head. Upon seeing this, the Sahabah leaped to their feet and raced falling over each other in eagerness to follow the practice of their beloved Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam). 8. Abu Qatadah reported, “We went along with the Messenger of Allah in the year of Hunayn. When we met the enemy, we suffered a reverse. I saw one of the polytheists getting the better of one of the Muslims. I struck him on his shoulder blade with my sword and cut his coat of mail. He turned to me and pressed me to him so hard that I felt death was near. However, he let me go when he was overtaken by death. I then saw 'Umar ibn al-Khattab and asked him what was the matter with the people, to which he replied that it was what Allah had decreed. Then the Muslims returned and defeated the enemy. After that Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)sat down and said, “Anyone who killed an enemy, and could prove it, he will get his share of the spoils.” I asked “Who will testify for me?” and then sat down. Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)made the same announcement a second time, and I again askeed, “Who will testify for me?” and sat down. Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)repeated his word a third time, and I again got up. He saw me and said, “What is the matter with you, Abu Qatadah?” When I told him my story, a man verified my statement and said, “He had spoken the truth, Ya Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam). I have his share of the spoils, so gratify him by giving something else in exchange.” Upon this, Abu Bakr said, “Never, I swear by Allah, Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)will never do so in the case of one of the Allah's heroes who fights for Him and His Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam), and then he should give you his share of the spoils.” Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) said “He (Abu Bakr) has had spoken the truth” and asked the man to hand it over to me. In this report we find two persons exercising their personal opinions in the presence of Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam). The first person is the one who was keeping the plunder. He considered it proper for Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) to let him keep it, and to give Abu Qatadah something else in exchange. The second one is Abu Bakr in whose opinion it was not proper to deprive Abu Qatadah, the hero of Islam, from the spoils.
9. When Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) migrated from Mecca to Medina, the Muslim Ummah at that time did not have any regular system of calling the people for the prayers. He consulted his Sahabah regarding this matter. Some suggested the use of a bell as the Christians did, while others advised him to use a horn like that of the Jews. At first, Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)was inclined towards the horn, but then, he did not like it and ordered a bell to be made so that it might be struck to gather the Muslims for prayers. Meanwhile, one night Abdullah ibn Zayd, a Sahabah of Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam), had a dream. Early in the morning, he rushed to the mosque, met Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)and said, “Ya Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) , last night when I was sleeping, I had a dream. A man dressed in two green garments carrying a bell in his hand appeared to me. I said to him, “O servant of Allah will you sell me this bell?" He asked, “What would you do with it?” I replied that we would use it to call people to the prayers. He then asked, “Shall I show you something better?” I said, “What is that?” So he told me the words of the adhan' (call to prayers). Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) said, “It is a true vision.” He then ordered Zayd to get up along with Bilal so that Bilal should repeat the words because his voice was louder than Zayd. This report shows that the Sahabah exercised their ijtihad in the presence of Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) and suggested the utilization of the bell or horn for the call to prayers. 10. Ibn 'Abbas reported that Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) used to lean against a dry trunk of a datepalm during his sermons. When the number of audience increased, one of his Sahabah Tamim al-Dari suggested for him to have a pulpit similar to the Syrians. Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)approved it and Maymoon, a carpenter of Medina was ordered to make a wooden Pulpit, which Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)used during his sermons afterwards. IJTIHAD IN RASULALLAH(SALLALLAHU ALAYHI WA SALAM)'S ABSENCE: The Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)'s Sahabah, during his absence, were in much need of exercising their ijtihad to solve the issues of their society. It was unnecessary, improper, and even practically impossible for them to contact Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) about every single problem. Therefore they practiced their personal reasoning to seek the solution for various issues. Later on, when they had chance, they reported their answers to Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam). In his role as supreme authority, he sometimes rejected these and sometimes approved or modified them. 1. When 'Ali ibn Abu Talib was in Yemen, a tragic case was brought to him for settlement. Some people had dug a pitfall to hunt a lion. When the lion fell in, many people gathered on the brink. By chance, one man slipped into the pitfall and gripped another person so that he might be rescued. The latter grabbed someone else who seized another one. All four men fell into the pitfall and were killed by the lion. 'Ali announced his decree that those who were standing on the brink should pay compensation to the kindred of the slain. He fixed one fourth of blood money as indemnity for the first slain, one-third for the second, half for the third, and full blood money (one hundred camels) for the fourth one. Later on somebody mentioned it to Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) who smiled and approved it. 2. Zayd ibn Arqam reported that once he was sitting by Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) when a Yemeni man came in and told Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)about a judgment of Ali ibn Abu Talib in Yemen. He said, there were three Yemeni men who (in their pre-lslamic period) had sexual intercourse with a woman in the same period of her purification. When she gave birth to a son, each one of them claimed to be his father. They brought their dispute to Ali who asked every two of them to give up their claim in the favored third one but they refused. Ali said, you are quarreling partners, l am going to cast lots among you. The child will belong to him who wins, but he would have to pay a sum equivalent to two third of the blood money to his Sahabah. Then he cast lots among them and entrusted the child to the winner. On hearing this, Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) smiled displaying his approval. 3. Once during the military expedition of Dhat al-Salasil, 'Amr ibn Al-'As happened to have a nocturnal emission. The weather was extremely cold. Fearing his death due to the intense chill, he did not take a bath for prayers. Instead, he performed ablution with dust and led his Sahabah in prayer. On their return to Medina, somebody informed Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)about it. He said, “Ya 'Amr did you lead your Sahabah in prayer while you were in the state of grave impurity?” In reply, 'Amr expressed his excuse and supported his action with a verse of the Qur'an which reads: “Do not kill yourselves, Allah has been most Merciful to you(4:29)”. Hearing this explanation, Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) smiled and did not say any word against his reasoning. 4. Once, during a journey, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab and 'Ammar ibn Yasir happened to have nocturnal emissions, and could not get water to take baths. When the prayer time came, 'Umar did not pray and delayed it until he could have access to water. But 'Ammar rolled himself on the ground to perform tayammum (ablution with dust) and offered the prayer. He exercised his ijtihad and compared through analogy the tayammum for grave impurity with the tayammum for minor impurity. On return to Medina, he mentioned to the Prophet who said, “It is enough for you to strike the ground with your hands, then blow into them, then wipe up your face and the palms of your hands with them.” This example at a time contains two personal reasonings: one about lawfulness of tayammum for grave impurity, and other about nature of tayammum. The latter required correction which was made by Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) . 5. When the battle of the Trench was over, Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) , after the afternoon prayer had been prayed, gave orders to his Sahabah that none should pray the late afternoon prayer until he had reached the Banu Qurayzah territory. They marched out. On their way the prayer time began. Some of them took Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) 's orders literally and said, “We will not offer the prayer till we reach the Banu Qurayzah”. They did not pray on their way and performed it later on in Banu Qurayzah territory. Others looked at the spirit of the orders. They realized through their ijtihad that Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) 's purpose was haste in traveling, not merely delaying the prayer. Therefore, they offered the prayer on their way and then rushed to the destination. Later on it was mentioned to Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) and he did not condemn any one. 6. Two Sahabah of Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) went out on a journey. When the time of prayer came, having no water with them, they performed ablution with good earth and then prayed. Immediately afterwards they found water. One of them performed ablution with water and repeated the prayer while the other did not. They both exercised their ijtihad and practiced according to it. When they came back they mentioned it to Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) . He said to the one who did not repeat the prayer, “You have observed my practice (Sunnah) and your prayer was enough for you.” To the one who had performed ablution with water and repeated the prayer he said, “You will have a two fold reward.” 7. Once Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) sent a military expedition to the western sea coast in order to watch the Quraysh's caravan. They were three hundred men under the command of Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah. They stayed at the seashore for half a month and were struck with severe hunger. One day the sea threw out a dead fish so big, the like of which they had never been seen, and it was called "Anbar''. They did not have any instructions from Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) about the lawfulness of this huge animal. The commander Abu 'Uubaydah exercised his ijtihad and pronounced it lawful and asked them to eat of it. They ate of it for half-a-month. On arrival at Medina they informed Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) about it. He said, “Eat of it, for it is a food which Allah has brought out for you.” Then he said, “Feed us if you have some of it.” There upon one of them gave him a portion which he ate. .Once some of Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)'s Sahabah went on a journey until they reached a certain Arabian tribe. They stopped there for rest, and asked them for hospitality, which the tribe refused. The chief of the tribe was then by chance bitten by a snake. His tribesmen tried their best to cure him but it was in vain. One of them said, “Nothing is benefiting him. If you go to the people who stopped here, some of them might have something useful.” They went to Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)'s Sahabah and told them that their chief had been bitten by a snake, and they had tried everything but it was in vain. Then they asked them if they had any useful thing. One of the Sahabah replied, “Yes, by ALLAH , I can use a spell but when we asked you for hospitality you refused, now I am not going to use a spell for your chief unless you fix a remuneration for it. They agreed to pay them a flock of sheep. Upon this the Sahabah started the recitation of the Qur'an's first chapter "Alhamdu lillahi Rabbil 'alameen'', and puffed over the chief who recovered instantly as if he was released from a chain; he started walking and there was not a bit of sickness with him. The tribesmen paid what they had agreed to pay. Some of the Sahabah suggested to divide the earnings, but the one who used the spell said, “Do not do it until we come to Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) , and tell him the whole story, and then wait for his orders.” So they went to Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) and reported it to him. He said to that one who used the spell, “How did you come to know that the first chapter of the Qur'an was a spell?” Then he added, “You people have done the right thing, divide the earnings, and assign a share for me as well.” Then Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) smiled. This report contains three reasonings. First, using the first chapter as a spell and demanding remuneration for it. Second, the suggestion of distribution. And finally, not to do it without asking Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) . 9. On the occasion of Hudaybiyah, Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) sent 'Uthman ibn 'Affan to Mecca in order to negotiate with the Quraysh so that they might allow Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) and his Sahabah to perform the pilgrimage to the Ka'bah. 'Uthman entered Mecca and tried his best to convince the Quraysh but it did not work. However, they allowed him to perform the circumambulation of the Ka'bah which he refused to do. His ijtihad led him not to accept their offer. He informed them that he would never perform the ritual without Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) . 10. During the last year of Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) 's Meccan life, the city of Medina became the base for the Islamic movement. In a very short period of time Islam grew to be one of the two major religions of that city; the other was Judaism. The majority of the two pagan tribes of Medina, Banu Khazraj and Banu Aws, had embraced Islam. One day some devoted Muslims of Medina held a meeting and discussed the need for a weekly fixed day for special religious services. They did not have any divine instruction in this regard and did not have access to Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) because he had not yet migrated and was still at Mecca. They said to each other that the Jews had a fixed weekly day, Saturday, in which they get together, just as the Christians had Sunday. Let the Muslims have a fixed day also on which they should meet together every week, remember Allah, offer prayers, and pay thanks to Allah. They selected the day of Friday for this purpose, and assembled to As'ad ibn Zurarah, a very knowledgeable Sahabah of Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) , who led them in the prayer which was the first Friday prayer in the history of Is1am. This action of the Muslims of Medina was later on confirmed by Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) . This report is evidence that the selection of Friday for the special congregational prayer was through the ijtihad of the Muslims of Medina during Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam)'s absence.
There are many pre-requisites of ijtihad: (i) Learning the Arabic language to the extent that is required. Knowledge of the colloquialism of Arabic and the language of the people to whom the Qur’an and the sunna was addressed to. (ii)Commentary (tafseer) of the Qur’an. (iii)Logic (mantiq). Every branch of learning in which reasoning is used needs logic (understanding).
(iv)The study of Ahadith.
(v) Knowledge of the transmitters of ahadith (rijal), to the extent where one is able to discern the validity of the ahadith.
(vi) The study of the principles of fiqh (jurisprudence).
(vii)Thorough research and study of the views of others. (viii)Review of the verdicts and narrations of the Ahlus Sunnah. (ix) Striving to make use of all of one’s abilities in deducing the rules. Once these pre-requisites have been met, then to be able to derive the laws of Shari’a a mujtahid uses the following four sources: (1) The Qur’an :-This is no doubt the first source for the laws and regulations of Islam. Approximately one thirteenth of the Qur’an pertains to laws. (2) The Sunnah : This means the words, actions and assertions of the Ma’sumeen. The study of the narrators is an important part in asserting the validity of the hadith. (3) Ijmaa (Consensus) :-Consensus means the general agreement of the ulema of a particular period on a particular issue. Consensus in it’s own right is not binding, and must be supported by the Sunnah. However, the Ahlus Sunnah believe that complete agreement of all the Muslims of one period on an issue is a divine revelation and it cannot be wrong. (4)Aql (Reason) :-What is meant here is that sometimes a law of shari’a is determined by the proof of reason. One of the obvious elements of Islam is that each command (amr) of Shari’a is there to meet the best interests of human beings and each prohibition (nahyi) arises from the necessity of preventing the corruption of the human being. Thus, because the laws of shari’a are centred on the wisdom of what is best and worst for the human being physically and spiritually, they will correspond to the laws of reasoning. Therefore, if we suppose that in some case there is no law communicated to us in the Qur’an or in the Sunnah, the wisdom of the other judgements of shari’a will automatically discover the law for the case in question. e.g. At the time (and place) of the Prophet (S.A.W.) there was no addiction to drugs like Marijuana, and we have no narrated proofs of it by name in the Qur’an, Sunnah and consensus. With our reason and knowledge, and on the basis of ‘a form of corruption which is essentially to be avoided’, and because we know that whatever is harmful to human beings and a corruption of them is haram in the view of Shari’a, we realise that Marijuana is forbidden. Here, we have a basic principle to work on. However. Qiyaas (analogy) is forbidden. This is where one deduces a law due to it’s resemblance to another law based on opinion and imagination rather then reason and certitude. Among the ulema of the Ahlus Sunnah, Abu Haneefa considered qiyaas (analogy) to be the fourth source. Imam Ja’fer As-Sadiq (A.S.) tried to show Abu Haneefa the error of qiyaas - It is reported that in a conversation about the subject, Imam (A.S.) asked him: “What is more important? Salaa or Sawm?” Abu Haneefa replied: “Salaa!”
Imam said: “Then why do women have to repay their qadha sawm during their monthly periods and not the qadha salaa?” “What is more najis? Urine or stool?” Imam asked
Abu Haneefa replied: “Stool!” Imam said: “Then why do you need water to make the area tahir after urine, but in the case of stool paper will suffice?”-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------