Ijtihad

Ijtihad (Arabic اجتهاد) is a technical term of the Islamic law that describes the process of making a legal decision by independent interpretation of the sources of the law, the Qur'an and the Sunnah. The opposite of ijtihad is taqleed, imitation. The person who applies ijtihad, the mujtahid, must be a scholar of Islamic law. The word derives from the Arabic verbal root jahada "struggle", the same root as that of jihad; the is inserted because the word is a derived stem VIII verb. The common etymology is worth noting, as both words touch on the concepts of struggle, effort, and meditation. Ijtihad is a method of legal reasoning that does not rely on the traditional schools of jurisprudence, or madhabs.

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Islamic law: REDIRECT Sharia...

Qur'an: The Qur'an ( al-qur'ān literally "the recitation"; also called Al Qur'ān Al Karīm or "The Noble Qur'an"; or transliterated Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. It is a tenet of Islam that the Qur'an is the literal word of God in Arabic and the culminati...

Sunnah: Sunnah () means ?way? or ?custom?, and therefore, the sunnah of the prophet means ?the way of the prophet?, or what is commonly known as the Prophet?s traditions. Terminologically, the word ?Sunnah? in Sunni Islam means the deeds, sayings and approvals of Muhammad during the 23 years of his ministry...