Part One: SEERAH (Biographical Sketch) CHAPTER

C:\Users\Admin\Dropbox\The Message - Material of Maulana\16. Books and Review\Apa's Books\Life And 77 on such diverse materials as bones, leaves of the date, white stones, thin skin, dependng upon what was available in those days. A study of Islamic history shows that, after long deliberations, a consensus emerged among the concerned companions that those fragmentary parts should be burnt. This was a clear case of Ijtihaad. (See details in Tadween-e-Quran, by M.A. Gilaani). Similarly, during the caliphate of Umar Farooq, the second caliph of Islam, when Iraq’s fertile land was conquered, the question arose as to how this land was to be administered. According to the prevailing custom, the movable and immovable spoils of war were divided among the soldiers after the conquest, for in those days there was generally no regular or standing army. People used to join the army voluntarily, and it was in the form of booty that they were given remuneration. But the caliph Umar refused to give away the land of Iraq to the soldiers as booty. A meeting of the senior knowledgeable companions was called to deliberate over this matter. Finally the consensus emerged that the land should be the property of the State. This was a case of Ijtihaad, a decision arrived at by the consensus of the companions, keeping in view the spirit and long-term aims of the Islamic shariah. (Tarikh Umar ibn Khattab, Ibn Jawzi). Similarly, during the Abbasid caliphate, when the Hadith was collected and compiled and also the fiqh (Islamic law) was compiled, this whole method was based on Ijtihaad. For there was no precedent of this type of task in the Prophet’s time. This process of collection and compilation was approved of by all the scholars of Islam. But in later periods of Islamic history when the political institution of Islam weakened, some scholars declared that now the door of Ijtihaad must be closed lest it lead to anarchy. In this way, the process of Ijtihaad has been almost entirely in abeyance for the last several hundred years. Ijtihaad is a natural requirement. In the ever-changing phases of life its importance is so great that, even after the door of Ijtihaad having been closed, its process is continuing without any formal announcement.