Sharjah Chair in Global Islam, McMaster University, Canada
Abstract
New issues and contingencies have forced Muslim jurists to engage in fresh scholarly research and iğtihād, so as to order to provide timely and relevant guidance to their followers. This paper will initially examine the arguments of various contemporary Muslim thinkers who call for a re-evaluation of traditional iğtihād and devising new strategies for a new form of iğtihād. These scholars have also called for a rethinking of the epistemological basis and hermeneutical tools inherent in Islamic legal theory (Uṣūl al-Fiqh). Jurists who argue for the renewal of iğtihād, also maintain that the interpretations of Islamic revelation were interwoven to the specificity of those times and places. Jurists can only pronounce general principles, not rulings that are to be enforced at all times and places. For them, the real test for any legal system is its practical implementation in the community of believers. The applicability of Islamic law in modern times needs to be explored in the light of its relevancy in the context of the contemporary reality of nation-states which insists on the equality of all citizens regardless of their religious and ethnic affiliations. Many scholars also argue that hermeneutical principles within iğtihād allow for a different and more vibrant interpretation of the Islamic message.
