Islam and Post-Ijtihadism by Prof Liyakat Takim

An important component in the post-Islamic discourse is the question of the status of Islamic law in contemporary times. Many contemporary jurists have argued that the juridical decisions in the past were interwoven to the political, cultural, or historical circumstances in the eighth century. They further argue while the Qur’an is a fixed text, the interpretive applications of its revelations can vary with the changing realities of history. 

This paper argues that there is a need to move beyond the current form of ijtihad to an era of post-ijtihad in Twelver Shi‘ism. The present ijtihad, which was developed in the medieval ages, has failed to produce a coherent legal system that can effectively respond to the needs of contemporary Muslims. The paper will also focus on the post-ijtihadism phenomenon and will argue that the traditional text-centered ijtihad has to be replaced with a new form of ijtihad which utilizes different forms of exegetical principles to formulate new rulings that will serve the Muslim community better. Post-ijtihadism, as I call it, will entail new hermeneutic and interpretive principles to provide a re-evaluation of classical juristic formulations and to assert a new jurisprudence that is based on the notion of ethical axioms and universal moral values. Post-Ijtihadism will also entail revamping traditional Islamic legal theory (Usul al-fiqh) which has hampered rather than enhanced the formulations of newer laws.