Issues of Ijtihad

based on political confrontation—thereby causing harm not only to the community but also to themselves. Double Mistake In the modern age, the old monarchical model had become disastrously ineffective. Still, two hundred years of failed attempts haven’t managed to change the ignorance of incapable Muslim leaders. Even though the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were completely lost, they still seem to view that old monarchical model as the standard approach in the twenty-first century. Today, this failed monarchical model is repeated in two ways: first, when rulers try to adopt it, and second, when non-governmental individuals or groups attempt to follow it. Sultan Tipu is an example of the first type—he tried to restore monarchical power but failed. He couldn’t see beyond the old royal system. In 1799, he died fighting a reckless war against the British. Similarly, Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq, is a modern example of someone who failed by following this same monarchical model. Following this, the second type of experiment within this model emerged—when non-governmental groups began fighting against perceived enemies. The earliest example of this likely occurred in 1831, when Maulana Syed Ahmad Barelvi and his companions’ caravan was destroyed in a battle against Maharaja Ranjit in Balakot. Later, in 1857,