Issues of Ijtihad

TAQLID AND IJTIHAD Islamic programs were aired in Muslim households, family members often changed the channel, opting instead for other entertainment programs. Despite vigorous efforts to enforce Shariah, these attempts failed primarily because contemporary Muslim leaders lacked the spirit of independent reasoning (ijtihad). They entered the political arena with an imitative mindset (taqlid), and the inevitable consequence of such an approach was exactly what unfolded in practice. Change in the Field of Action In Sahih al-Bukhari, there is a narration from Abu Huraira in which the Prophet Muhammad said: “I have been commanded to migrate to a town which will swallow other towns. They call it Yathrib, but it is Madinah.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 1871) Al-Bukhari included this Hadith in his Sahih under the chapter, ‘The Virtue of Al-Madinah.’ If later generations interpret this Hadith with an imitative mindset, they will derive only issues related to the virtues of Madinah. Consequently, most commentators on this Hadith have confined their discussions to this context. For example, many Hadith commentators argue that it is disliked (makruh) to call Madinah by its old name, Yathrib and that it should only be referred to as Madinah or Madinah Munawwarah. However, the Quran uses the term Yathrib for Madinah