---
title: "What is Ijtihad (independent juristic reasoning)? | IslamicOpenFinance™"
description: "The effort of a qualified jurist to derive a ruling on a question the texts do not settle directly."
url: https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/ijtihad/
lang: en-GB
source: "IslamicOpenFinance"
---

[Glossary](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/) / [Shariah fundamentals](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/#fundamentals)

Shariah fundamentals

# Ijtihad (independent juristic reasoning)

The effort of a qualified jurist to derive a ruling on a question the texts do not settle directly.

Ijtihad is the disciplined effort of a qualified jurist to reach a Shariah ruling on a question that the texts and existing consensus do not settle. Bank Negara Malaysia's Shariah contract framework refers to legal judgments deduced by a qualified jurist through the ijtihad process, and AAOIFI's governance texts note that differing views often arise on rulings reached by reasoning, especially on new questions. Because new financial products raise new questions, most of what Shariah boards do is a form of ijtihad, individual or collective.

## Sources

- [Bank Negara Malaysia, Shariah Contract Framework discussion paper, 2024: references to rulings deduced by a qualified jurist through ijtihad](https://www.bnm.gov.my/documents/20124/938039/dp-shariah-contract-nov24.pdf)

This entry explains a term; it is not a Shariah ruling. Approving a product is for each institution's own Shariah board and regulator.

## Related terms

[**Mujtahid (qualified jurist)** A jurist qualified to perform ijtihad, that is, to derive rulings from the sources by recognised methods.](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/mujtahid/) [**Ijma (consensus of jurists)** The consensus of qualified jurists on a ruling, treated as a source of Shariah after the Quran and the Sunnah.](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/ijma/) [**Qiyas (analogical reasoning)** Extending a ruling from a case covered by the texts to a new case that shares the same underlying cause.](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/qiyas/) [**Fatwa** A juristic opinion on a Shariah question; in finance, usually a Shariah board's ruling on a product or transaction.](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/fatwa/) [**Shariah supervisory board** An independent panel of Shariah scholars that approves an institution's products and oversees its Shariah compliance.](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/shariah-board/)

**Shariah fundamentals**

1. [Riba](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/riba/)
2. [Gharar](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/gharar/)
3. [Maysir](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/maysir/)
4. [Shariah](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/shariah/)
5. [Fiqh al-muamalat](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/fiqh-al-muamalat/)
6. [Maqasid al-Shariah](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/maqasid-al-shariah/)
7. [Riba al-nasiah](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/riba-al-nasiah/)
8. [Riba al-fadl](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/riba-al-fadl/)

[All 221 terms](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/)