Issues of Ijtihad

a mujtahid must possess five essential types of knowledge: 1. Knowledge of the Book of God (Quran), 2. Knowledge of the Sunnah of the Prophet, 3. Knowledge of the statements of early scholars, encompassing both consensus and disagreements, 4. Proficiency in the Arabic language, 5. Understanding of qiyas (analogical reasoning) and istinbat (inference). 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. 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,