TWO TYPES OF IJTIHAD: GENERAL AND SPECIAL

Ijtihad can be categorized into two types: general ijtihad and special ijtihad. General ijtihad addresses external conditions, while special ijtihad pertains to internal conditions—those deeper, underlying aspects of a phenomenon that may not be immediately apparent. The distinction can be articulated as follows: general ijtihad relates to basarat (physical vision), whereas special ijtihad requires basirat (insight).

For instance, if a mujtahid needs to determine whether the Shariah ruling allowing wiping over leather socks (mas-h ’ala al-khuffayn) applies to modern, factory-made socks, expertise in the five key disciplines is sufficient. Similarly, if the question arises about whether inserting a needle into the body breaks ablution (wudu), then knowledge of these five sciences would also be sufficient to derive a ruling on this matter.