Ijtihad Quotes

“Kesamaran yang jelas terdapat berkaitan perhubungan yaqin dan zann pada tahap ilmu manusia, walaupun jika ia berdasarkan sumber Ilahi, sepatutnya dilayani dan dihargai sebagai satu keresahan positif. Di sebelah pihak iaitu, pihak yang berkeyakinan, menekankan kemungkinan keputusan-keputusan yang dibuat oleh manusia dan mengelakkan keraguan yang tekal dan buruk padahnya amatlah penting. Pada pihak yang lain pula, aspek keraguan akan keresahan itu mesti sentiasa diingati demi mencegah kefanatikan dan kesombongan yang melampau sama ada berbentuk teologis, saintifik atau sejarah, yang telah mengakibatkan banyak penderitaan manusia, di samping menggalakkan penyelidikan lanjut dalam semangat ijtihad dan shura. Sikap ini akan menggalakkan kerjasama dan akan memajukan perkembangan sains, kemanusiaan dan tamadun bukan sahaja di kalangan orang Islam, tetapi seluruh kemanusiaan.”
― Wan Mohd Nor Wan Daud, Konsep Ilmu dalam Islam

“It comes from the same root as jihad, ’to struggle,’ but unlike violent struggle, ijtihad is about struggling to understand our world by using our minds. Which implies exercising the freedom to ask questions—sometimes uncomfortable ones. I spoke about why all of us, Muslim and not, need ijtihad.”
― Irshad Manji, Allah, Liberty and Love: The Courage to Reconcile Faith and Freedom

“In many discussions al-Attas stresses that taqlīd is a proper attitude and practice to follow by anyone who is not knowledgeable in a particular subject. Taqlīd, according to al-Attas, is not blind following as commonly understood in some circles, but following an authority, which itself implies some knowledge and considerable judgement in choosing who is most authoritative in a particular subject. This position is supported by Makdisi's treatment of the layman's right to taqlīd in Islam. In the same manner, a scholar must exercise his utmost effort to form his own opinion, even if it agrees with others. In fact, a scholar is regarded as abdicating his authority and his freedom, and violating his sacred mission if he were to merely follow the opinion of others.”
― Wan Mohd Nor Wan Daud, Educational Philosophy and Practice of Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas: An Exposition of the Original Concept of Islamization