THE NEED FOR A REVOLUTIONARY MINDSET
Shah Waliullah (d. 1762), a distinguished Islamic scholar and theologian from India, addressed the concept of ijtihad (independent reasoning) and the qualifications of a mujtahid (one who exercises ijtihad) in his book, Aqd al-Jayyid fi Ahkam al-Ijtihad wa al-Taqleed. He outlined that a mujtahid must possess five essential types of knowledge:
- Knowledge of the Book of God (Quran),
- Knowledge of the Sunnah of the Prophet,
- Knowledge of the statements of early scholars, encompassing both consensus and disagreements,
- Proficiency in the Arabic language,
- Understanding of qiyas (analogical reasoning) and istinbat (deduction).
(Aqd al-Jayyid, p. 4)
While Shah Waliullah and other scholars accurately outlined these qualifications, they are primarily applicable to restricted forms of ijtihad. For unrestricted ijtihad, these qualifications alone are insufficient.
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