MUSLIM WORLD-VIEW — An Islamic Perspective

matter in the Hadith as well. Muaz replied that in that situation he would exercise his judgment to the best of his ability. The Prophet then placed his hand on his chest and said, “May God be praised, for granting this ability to Muaz". This Hadith is regarded as the fundamental source of the principle of Ijtihad. When we examine this Hadith, we learn exactly when a Muslim is allowed to do ijtihad in Islam—he or she is permitted to do so only when no guidance is available for that particular situation in the Quran and Hadith. If guidance is available in the matter at hand in the Quran then any ijtihad will be invalid. For example, it is established from the Quran that fasting has been fixed for the month of Ramadan. It is, therefore, not permissible for anyone to do ijtihad and fix some other time of the year for fasting. The same applies to the number of obligatory prayers. No one is allowed to do ijtihad to increase or decrease the number of obligatory prayers, the number of obligatory fasting days or to change the month of fasting, and so on. Through this principle, we find clear guidance in the Quran and Hadith regarding the use of such terms as Dar ul-Islam, Dar ul-Kufr and Dar ulHarb. It is not proper for any scholar or jurist to devise new terms on his own by means of ijtihad in the face of available guidance. The sight of a human being should remind us of the Creator who has created all human beings. It should remind us of God’s miraculous powers to grant life. Thus, it must bring us to God-realization. To elaborate, the situations that the jurists use the term Dar ul-Kufr for, were the same set of situations that the Prophet faced for the period of thirteen years that he lived in Makkah after receiving prophethood. So, according to the jurists, Makkah, from the beginning of the Prophet’s prophethood to the Hijrah, had, in principle, the status of Dar ul-Kufr. Yet, we do not find a single reference in the Quran and Hadith to show that the term Dar ul-Kufr was ever applied to the town of Makkah before the Prophet’s migration from there. After the migration of the Prophet, the Makkans openly opposed him. Following the Hijrah, the Muslims and the Makkans were at war, and this was a situation similar to the one for which the jurists devised the term Dar ul-Harb. Yet, we know that no such term has been used in the