Ijtihad (اجْتِهَاد)

Arabic: اجْتِهَاد
Literal meaning: "Effort, exertion, striving" — from the root ج-ه-د (j-h-d)
Technical meaning: Independent juristic reasoning by a qualified scholar (mujtahid) to derive a ruling from the primary sources of Sharīʿah when no explicit text (naṣṣ) exists. It is the intellectual process by which Islamic law adapts to new circumstances without altering its foundations.

Definition

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