Issues of Ijtihad

THE ART OFCLEAR THINKING together, at the same time. He suggested that they stand one behind another in a vertical line. The people did as he suggested and were then able to move along the path easily. The path that had appeared narrow to them as a group now became wide when they took the form of a line. This incident illustrates the difference that one’s way of thinking can make. In this world, everything depends on thinking. Wrong thinking makes an easy thing difficult, while right thinking makes a difficult thing easy. This issue of difference in thinking applies to all matters, big or small. It applies to domestic affairs as well as to national and international affairs. Harm Caused by Wrong Thinking In 1930, the annual session of the All-India Muslim League was held in the town of Allahabad. It was presided over by Allama Iqbal. In his Presidential address, he made the claim that in undivided India, Muslims would not be able to keep their identity protected and that, therefore, when India becomes independent, in the Muslim-majority areas of the country Muslims should have a separate homeland. This suggestion later became popular among many Muslims under the name of ‘Pakistan,’ and in 1947, a country separate from India came into existence with that name. This concept of a separate Muslim territory was accepted by many other Muslim thinkers too. And, based