definition of ijtihad

November 8, 2017

Taqlid & Madhhabs: the Good, Bad, and the Ugly [1/2]

Must each Muslim know the proofs behind a religious action before performing that act? In Islam, what counts as “proof”? Is accepting a fatwa of a qualified Muslim scholar on trust, without knowing his legal reasoning, blind following? Can ordinary Muslims who’ve had no legal training evaluate proof-texts and identify the strongest view. How can Muslim Continue reading

correctives & clarifications, fiqh & usul al-fiqh, knowledge & learning, salafism reconsidered, theology

al-Dhahabi on what qualifies as ijtihad, al-Shanqiti on the two types of taqlid, can a non-jurist weigh-up proofs?, definition of ijtihad, Ibn Qudamah on the consensus of taqlid, Ibn Taymiyyah on the lawful taqlid, meaning of taqlid, only innovators deny taqlid, the layman and religious learning, three types of forbidden taqlid, what type of taqlid is prescribed in Islam?

About Me

My name is Surkheel Sharif (aka Abu Aaliyah). Born and raised in London, England, I began my more formal, but gradual studies of the Islamic sciences around the late 1980s (just a few years after having quit my degree in Astrophysics). I also gained an MA in Islamic Studies from Birkbeck College, University of London, in 2009.

I’ve translated a few Islamic works from Arabic into English; one of them, a short text on Muslim spirituality, called The Exquisite Pearl (2000). I have also authored a few books, including: More Fish Please & the Earth’s Complaint (2011); Fussing Over the 15th of Sha’ban & the Golden Rule of Differing (2011); A Muslim’s Guide to Modernity (2025); and Salafism Reconsidered (forthcoming)

I am the founder and current Director of the Jawziyyah Institute (est. 1999): a non-profit organisation dedicated to cultivating an Islam true to its time-honoured tradition, relevant to its current context, and of benefit to wider society.

definition of ijtihad

Taqlid & Madhhabs: the Good, Bad, and the Ugly [1/2]