ENGLISH 5 AN ANALYSIS OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MUJTAHID AND MUFT┘

MUJTAHID AND MUFT┘

Abstract

Ijtihād and Iftā’ are two prime activities in Islamic Sharī’ah. Deriving the rules and commandments from Qur’ān and Sunnah in the light of Sharī’ah is a continues process. Human life requires rulings as per changing needs of each era.Sharī’ah has introduced the principle of Ijtihād to make Islamic Sharī’ah dynamic and cope the needs of any era of human life. But confusion arises normally between the difference ofIjtihād and Iftā’. Both have different limits and scope, which must be maintained, otherwise a higher institution will lose its worth and status. This paper will highlight this difference in context of their qualifications and responsibilities in a critical way.