لطفا منتظر باشید ...
(he did all in his power) as well as in the
sense of trying hard, as in is used in the sense of strength. [8]
Al‑Munjid states:
Ahmad al‑Qayyumi wiites: Juhd in the usage of the people of the
Hijaz and jahd in the non‑Hijazi
usage means exerting one's strength and power, and it has been said that juhd means strength and jahd means toil and strain. [9] He
further adds: (Ijtihada means: he spent his strength
and capacity to attain his goal and his ultimate objective'). [10]
Al‑Allamah al Turayhi
states: It occurs in a hadith that: (the best of charities is that which is
given by one in indigence'). [11]
He also says: means: (ijtihada bi yamanih means: He tried
hard and did his utmost in order to fulfil his promise'). [12] He explains that
ijtihad involves doing one's utmost
while striving and making effort. [13]
Ibn Abi Dharah, quoting al‑Mawardi,
states that the literal meaning of ijtihad
is to undertake effort and endeavour in accomplishing something that
requires strain and difficulty, and to this is related jihad al‑nafs (the struggle against the carnal self) which
involves labour and toil for winning the desired objective and goal.
Isma'il al‑Jawharil [14]
and other lexicographers have also defined the word ijtihad in similar terms. Thus we come to the conclusion that in
the light of the definitions given by the lexicographers ijtihad means employment of effort and endeavour to one's utmost
capacity, and it does not make any difference whether it is derived from juhd or jahd, as effort and endeavour are not without strain and toil and
accompany each other.
On the basis of this definition,
the statements of the two Usuli scholars, Shaykh Hasan al-Amali al‑JibaI
[15] and Akhund al‑Khurasani, [16] and others about this term, that the
literal meaning of ijtihad is
undergoing difficulty and hardship for accomplishing something, appear to be
incomplete and controvertible.
Ijtihad' in the Utterances of
the Prophet (S)
The word ijtihad also occurs in the statements of the Prophet (S) in the
same literal sense. Some examples may be cited here:
Pronounce benedictions over me
and be diligent in prayer. [17]
As to the prostration, be
diligent (or insistent) in prayer, for that makes it worthy of acceptance. [18]
The alim (scholar) is superior to the mujtahid by a hundred degrees. [19]
In this tradition mujtahid is used in the sense of abid (devotee), one who is diligent in ibadah (worship).
Ijtihad' In the Utterances of Some Sahabah
A'ishah is reported to have
said:
During the last decade of his
life the Apostle of God worked harder than in any period. [20]
Talhah ibn Ubayd Allah is
reported to a stated:
(There were) two men in the days
of the Prophet (S), one of whom surpassed the other in his ijtihad (diligence in worship). The diligent one' participated in
war and was martyred. [21]
Abu Said al‑Khudri is
reported as having said:
Whenever the Apostle of God took
an oath (to do something), he would take pains to fulfil the oath. [22]
The following is reported about
Abd Allah ibn Ubayy in relation to the campaign of Banu al‑Mustalaq:
He insisted on his oath that he
had not done that. [23]
Umm Harithah is reported to have
stated in a question she asked the Prophet (S):
I shall bear with patience if my
son is in Paradise, but if that isn't
the case, I shall mourn for him to
the limit of my strength. [24]
Ijtihad in the Utterances of
the Imams (A)
In the utterances of the Imams
(A) of the Prophet's Ahl al‑Bayt, too, the word ijtihad is used in its literal sense. Following are three examples:
In Nahj al‑balaghah, Imam 'Ali (A) states:
It is for you to make effort and to strive, to, prepare yourselves and
to supply yourselves with in this stage of provision (i.e. this world). [25]
Al‑'Imam al‑Baqir (A)
is reported to have said to a group of Shiis:
By God, I love your fragrance and (the purity of) your souls. So strengthen
them by means of piety and endeavour (ijtihad).
You should know that you will not
approach our wilayah except by deeds
and through endeavour. [26]
Al‑'Imam al‑Sadiq (A)
is reported to have said to Said ibn Hilal al‑Thaqafi:
I advise you to fear God,
to be pious, and to be diligent (in fulfilling your duties). [27]
Ijtihad as a Technical Term
There is no consensus of opinion
among scholars belonging to different Islamic schools regarding the literal
meaning of the term ijtihad. A
section of Sunni ulama' believes that ijtihad
means making effort and endeavour in order to achieve presumption (zann) regarding a hukm (law) of the Shari'ah. The same definition is also found in
the writings of some Shi'i ulama'. But this interpretation was first proposed
by a group of Sunni ulama'. In any case, it would be appropriate to cite some
of the views held by Shi'i and the Sunni ulama' in this regard:
(a) The great Allamah Sayf al‑Din
al‑'Amidi al‑Shafii (d.631/1234) says: Ijtihad means putting in of effort and endeavour in order to reach
presumption (zann) regarding one of
the ahkam of the Shari'ah in such a
manner that one feels that he can do nothing more. [28]
(b) Al‑Allamah Ibn Hajib
Abu Amr Uthman ibn Umar ibn Abi Baler al‑Kurdi al‑Maliki (c. 570
‑ 646/1174 ‑ 1248) writes in his Mukhtasar al‑usul: Ijtihad means making effort to arrive
at presumption or conjecture regarding a hukm
of the Shari'ah.
(c) Qadi Abd al‑Rahman ibn
Ahmad ibn Abd al‑Ghaffar al‑Shafii al-Adudi (d. 756/1355) , in
his book Sharh Mukhtasar usul Ibn Hajib, writes: Ijtihad is
employing one's effort and capacity in the way of arriving at a presumption
regarding some hukm of the Shari'ah.
(d) Abu Hamid Muhammad al‑Ghazali
al‑Shafii (460‑505/10681111) quotes the writer of Fawatih al‑rahamut to the effect
that: Ijtihad is the effort made on
the part of the faqih to derive a presumed hukm
of the Shariah. [29]
(e) Muhammad Maruf al‑Dawalibi
writes: Ijtihad means the exercise
of ray which is not acceptable to all
the ulama', for if it is accepted by all it would be called ijma (consensus), not ijtihad. Therefore, ijtihad is on a lower standing than ijma'. [30]
