World Islamic scholars discuss Ijtihad, Qiyas
The trip to the exotic and ancient land of Turkey as a guest of Sheik Fethullah Gullen’s Hizmet Movement, revealed the humility and hospitality of our hosts which altered my earlier impression of Turks as being a hard and rough people, what with their short stocky physique. Rather I found them to be warm, kind […]
The trip to the exotic and ancient land of Turkey as a guest of Sheik Fethullah Gullen’s Hizmet Movement, revealed the humility and hospitality of our hosts which altered my earlier impression of Turks as being a hard and rough people, what with their short stocky physique. Rather I found them to be warm, kind and intuitive. Neither forward nor loud, they embrace you upon introduction, giving you the traditional cheek to cheek kiss.
The symposium, titled “Ijtihad and Qiyas: The Richness of Islam,” took place at the İstanbul Congress Center ,and was jointly organized by the Yeni Ümit and Hira magazines. Around 1,000 theologians, academics and opinion leaders from more than 100 countries gathered for the symposium, aimed at bringing unity in the Islamic community.
The participants at the symposium agreed that Ijtihad reveals the universality of Islam and gives Muslims a chance to find solutions to their problems everywhere, and under any circumstances. They said ijtihad needs to be kept alive so that the Islamic ummah (nation) can remain standing.
Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed, Director, Center for Quranic Studies, Bayero University, Kano, one of the nine-member Nigerian delegation, said the international symposium with the theme ‘Ijtihad & Qiyas’ aims to identify some of the challenges facing Muslims today.
The Nigerian delegation includes representatives from the Jama’atu Nasril Islam JNI, Supreme Council for Islamic Conference, Muslim Umma of South West Nigeria, and Assembly of Muslims in Nigeria.
He said the conference, the fourth in a series, aims at providing an opportunity to present a unified position for Muslims in dealing with new innovations that hitherto Muslim leaders are not aware of, including other sources of Shariah.
Dr. Mohammed said the symposium gives Nigeria a sense of belonging in the International Islamic community, and participants will deliberate on ways of giving better judgments, Fatwa and other legal opinion on issues, in order to avoid problems and conflict.
Prof. Tijjani Al-Miskin, Deputy Secretary, Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in Nigeria, in his message, thanked the organizers of the conference on behalf of the Nigerian delegation and people and commended the effort of Sheik Fethullah Gullen’s Hizmet Movement for the giant development strides in Nigeria.
He said the conference is an effort by the movement in finding practical solutions, through Ijtihad and Qiyas, to the numerous problems bedevilling the world like Boko Haram in Nigeria, the Syrian conflict etc.
Professor Suat Yıldırım spoke on the first day of the symposium, and said the concept of Ijtihad shows how Islam is sufficient in addressing the needs of humanity, and responds to the changing conditions of the times.
“We can proudly say that wherever Muslims have lived over the last 14 centuries, they have seen that principles of Islam are sufficient for them for problem solving. This has been possible thanks to Ijtihad,” Yıldırım said.
Professor Beşir Gözübenli explained that Ijtihad is an effort to reveal the message of God. He mentioned the last sermon of Prophet Muhammad, in which he said he has left the Quran and sunnah [his way of life] as a legacy to Muslims. Gözübenli said that thanks to Ijtihad, the correct understanding of the Quran and sunnah, their practice and their transfer to future generations are assured.
Professor Abdunnasir Abul Basal from Jordan spoke about the importance of Ijtihad in ensuring the Islamic ummah is made up of outstanding citizens. He said Prophet Muhammad taught Ijtihad to the sahaba (his companions) so that they could find solutions to new problems.
“Ijtihad is one of the signs of a healthy Muslim life and mind. Ijtihad is an obligation for Islam to exist in reality. If there is a problem, there is a need for Ijtihad to find a solution,” he said.
The editor-in-chief of Hira magazine, which is published in Arabic and has an audience of over 40,000, said the editorial board of the magazine decided to discuss Ijtihad and Qiyas in their latest edition.
Speaking on the second day of the symposium, Jordanian Professor Ali al-Faqir, said as long as Muslims fulfill the requirements of Ijtihad, the doors of reasoning will always be open for them. Al-Faqir warned that if Qiyas is used by incompetent people, this could lead to disastrous results for the Islamic ummah.
“We need to make use of Ijtihad and Qiyas. We are the members of a religion of tolerance. The future of our ummah is very bright,” he said.
Professor Muhammad Babaammi said in his speech that Ijtihad, freedom and submission to God are three inseparable concepts. Jordanian scholar Marwan al-Fuari echoed these sentiments and offered his thanks to the organizers of the symposium.
He also praised the Hizmet movement, inspired by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, and said such a movement cannot be accused of being Hashashins – a medieval group that carried out political assassinations, and added that the Hizmet movement is not involved in any work against the interests of Turkey.
Gülen sent a message to the participants of the symposium, saying: “Ijtihad and Qiyas present a significant field of expansion… that transcends time and space, as it is found in the Quran and the sunnah. We will never run out of solutions and answers as long as these rich sources are available, with their doors wide open for those who are able to benefit from them.”
“Your gathering today is an example of revisiting the essential sources of our cultural heritage with untarnished feelings … and it is my sincere hope that it will contribute extensively to our academia and culture. With these feelings, I present my greetings, love and respect to all participants, and ask them to include me in their prayers,” Gülen said.
Prof. Tijjani Al Miskin further explains “Let me start from the origin of those terms, the point is that they are sources of Islamic law that are recognized by scholars of principles of Islamic jurisprudence and the first source is the Qurán, the second source is the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the third source is Qiyas and Ijma.
“The first source which is the Qurán is obvious they are laws and legislations provided by the Qur’an, the second the Sunnah is dependent on the Prophet’s actions, utterances and tolerances, while the third source Qiyas is analogical deduction. You can only resort to analogical deduction if there is absence of a clear text from the Qur’an and Sunnah.
He added “Now analogical deduction means trying to relate a later event to its earlier parallel, by saying that since this case is similar then we can compare it with that archetype, and that similarity can bring about analogical deduction.
“For example, there is a clear text from the Qurán that taking alcohol is prohibited, now it is through analogical deduction that you can ban cocaine or other hard drugs because it is not specifically stated in the Qurán, but since these drugs also intoxicate and influence the human mind just like alcohol does, scholars resort to analogical deduction to say it is also haram.”
He said the other source is Ijma or consensus of Islamic scholars who have reached the status of Mujtahid e.g. Imam Malik or Imam Hanifa or Imam Hambali, “these are not just scholars but scholars who are capable of extracting laws, they can engage in analogical deduction which is Qiyas and they can constitute components of Ijma which is consensus of such scholars in a particular time, if they agree on a ruling, it then becomes binding on the Muslim ummah.
“Ijtihad on the other hand is the kind of effort that you can make to engage in extracting an Islamic law, Qiyas for example. So Ijtihad is an instrument of extracting laws from your knowledge of the Qurán and Sunnah.
Asked whether such extractions are being practiced in Nigeria, Al-Miskin said “You know people dabble in things even though they are not capable. Islam was meticulously refined and passed to subsequent generations, you just can’t equate yourself to someone like Imam Malik and say you can also have a Qiyas but there are statutory bodies like the Fiqh body of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) they have these institutions that engage in effort to revive the tradition of extracting laws according to our present day realities.”
Sights of Turkey
My first sight of Turkey came as our aircraft descended into Istanbul from five thousand feet. I could see Istanbul, this huge city of millions, spread out beneath me for miles and miles, yet split by the meandering blue of the Bosporus. The vast expanse of red clay tiled houses and apartments neatly separated by rows of roads were adorned by beautiful mosque domes.
The major monuments of Istanbul are stunning, world-class masterpieces of architecture: Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and the Suleimaniyya Mosque. I was also moved by the beauty of the palaces, both the traditional Topkapi and the nineteenth-century Dolmabace. The Spice Souk and the Grand Souk in Istanbul, were filled with alluring sights and smells.
This trip helped me to see that we are more similar that different. I began to draw all kinds of parallels between these two faiths and indeed any faith system.
On the trip to Turkey, I was blessed with the opportunity to visit many mosques and meet many Turks. I was impressed by their openness and hospitality which their country is known for.
Turkey is a wonderful place to visit. It has state of the art medical and educational values and information to share. They are a very loving and caring people, and given the amount of Mosques in the Istanbul area alone, a very religious community.
Turkey is a feast for the senses. It is a place for learning of both the old and new. Yes, it’s true that Turks speak a different language, and have different cultures and religions, But it doesn’t matter… it doesn’t matter what religion, what race, what culture, or what country people are from.