THE GRADE OF IJTIHÂD

“The word ‘fiqh’, when used in Arabic in the form of ‘faqiha yafqahu’, that is, in the fourth category, means ’to know, to understand’. When it is used in the fifth category, it means ‘to know, to understand Islam’. A scholar in ’ilm al-fiqh is called Faqîh. ’Ilm al-fiqh deals with the actions which people should do and those which they should not do. The knowledge of Fiqh is obtained from the Qur’ân al-kerîm, from hadîth-i-sherîfs, from Ijmâ’, and from Qiyâs. The consensus of the as-Sahâbat al-kirâm, and the mujtahids who came after them, is called ijmâ’ al-Umma. The Islamic teachings derived from the Qur’ân al-kerîm, from hadîth-i-sherîfs, and from the ijmâ’ al-Umma, are called Qiyâs al-fuqahâ. If it could not be understood from the Qur’ân al-kerîm or from hadîth-i-sherîfs whether a certain act was halâl (permitted) or harâm (forbidden), then that act was compared to another act which was known. This comparison was called qiyâs (analogy). Applying qiyâs required the latter act to involve the same factor which made the former act permitted or forbidden. And this could be judged only by those profound scholars who had attained the grade of ijtihâd.