Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Islam the process of Muslim jurists making a legal decision by independent interpretation of the Qur'an and the Sunna; such a jurist is a mujtahid

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the endeavor of a Moslem scholar to derive a rule of divine law from the Koran and Hadith without relying on the views of other scholars; by the end of the 10th century theologians decided that debate on such matters would be closed and Muslim theology and law were frozen

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Arabic إجتهاد (ijtihad, "effort").

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Examples

  • A self-identified lesbian and practitioner of the Islamic tradition of critical thinking known as ijtihad, she has served as a legislative aide in the Canadian parliament, editorialist at the Ottawa Citizen, and host of several Canadian television shows.

    Firedoglake » Moderation in the Face of Chaos 2006

  • While it is true, however, that Sunnism, like Catholicism, is the largest branch of its respective faith, Jasser's analogy is off-base because it understates the true root of all Islamic extremism and violence: a literal interpretation of the Qur'an which stems from the renunciation by Sunni scholars, over a millennium ago, of the doctrine known as ijtihad, "independent reasoning" in Qur'anic exegesis.

    History News Network 2010

  • While it is true, however, that Sunnism, like Catholicism, is the largest branch of its respective faith, Jasser's analogy is off-base because it understates the true root of all Islamic extremism and violence: a literal interpretation of the Qur'an which stems from the renunciation by Sunni scholars, over a millennium ago, of the doctrine known as ijtihad, "independent reasoning" in Qur'anic exegesis.

    History News Network 2010

  • Islam has a detailed legal process called ijtihad for deriving new Islamic rulings.

    Khilafah.com - Building a global movement for Khilafah 2009

  • Islam has a detailed legal process called ijtihad for deriving new Islamic rulings.

    Khilafah.com - Building a global movement for Khilafah 2009

  • Shi'ites have always been open to interpretting the sources of the faith (For better or worse, in my personal opinion) for the purpose of jurisprudence (A practice known as ijtihad).

    Cadillac Tight 2009

  • Which country embraces an Islamic concept called "ijtihad," or religious reasoning, which allows for modern interpretations of Islamic law, even legislation?

    Nathan Gonzalez: Who's Our Enemy Again? 2008

  • The definition provided in your story is for a concept known as "ijtihad," not "jihad."

    Reuters: Top News Robert Basler 2011

  • Most versions of this story did use the proper term "ijtihad,"but in a sad spell-checker turn of events, one online version showed up as "jihad."

    Reuters: Top News Robert Basler 2011

  • Ibrahim Ali closes the doors to 'ijtihad' | AB Sulaiman

    Malaysiakini :: News 2010

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