Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

The Principle of Ijtihad in Islam

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought

• [Preface]
• What is ijtihad?
• The kind of ijtihad which is forbidden by the shari'a
• Ijtihad permitted by the shari'a
• The appearance of the Akhbaris in Shi'i Islam
• The struggle with Akhbarism
• A sample of the two ways of thinking
• The kind of taqlid that is forbidden by the shari`a
• The hadith of the sixth Imam concerning the kind of taqlid which is illicit
• Regarding the popular belief that the `ulama cannot be tainted by immorality
• Taqlid permitted by the shari`a
• Why is taqlid of a dead person not permitted?
• How the faqih's outlook on the world affects the legal opinions he issues?
• The understanding of necessities
• An important recommendation
• The division of the sciences into specialised branches
• The progress made in fiqh during the last thousand years
• A council of fuqaha'
• Footnotes