Ijtihad in Usul al-Fiqh

Foundational ijtihad distinguishes sharply between unchanging and immutable principles and values and time-bounded and conditional verdicts that are relative. It takes a critical approach to traditional theology and ethics, consensus, hadith literature, and legal rulings of the jurists. This method requires contextualization and a re-reading of the Quran and Sunnah in light of ethics, justice, reasonability and the ultimate objectives of Islam. Modern challenges cannot be resolved by engaging in traditional ijtihad within the realm of secondary injunctions (furu‘) and there is no alternative other than foundational ijtihad to reconstruct Islamic thought, which includes theology and ethics as well as Shari‘a. This will help to resolve the contemporary challenges in areas such as human rights, gender equality, freedom of religion, and political thought. This kind of Ijtihad requires a new version of the method and principles of jurisprudence ('Usul al-Fiqh). This presentation will focus on this new method and principles of jurisprudence ('Usul al-Fiqh).