The Ruling on Ijtihad in Matters of 'Aqeedah and Usul

Question:
Is ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) permissible in matters of 'aqeedah (creed) and usul (principles)? What are the connections of this issue? And how do we respond to those who say that ijtihad is permissible in 'aqeedah and usul?

Answer:
'Aqeedah and usul, meaning the usul of 'aqeedah, the usul of faith, and the usul of 'aqeedah, these are divinely prescribed (taqwiyyah); they are not a place for ijtihad. Nothing is said in them except what is established in the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger, or the ijma' (scholarly consensus) of the scholars of knowledge. Ijtihad is only in the branch matters, in the matters of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and derivation, the halal (lawful) and haram (forbidden), the mubah (permissible) and makruh (disliked), and the mustahabb (recommended). This is the place for ijtihad: matters of fiqh, in transactions, and in those matters that are a field for consideration and derivation from the evidences of the Shari'ah. This is the position. Books of 'aqeedah are built upon evidence from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, and it is not for us to innovate in them anything from our minds or our opinions. Yes, we clarify them for people, we interpret them for people with the correct interpretation, we explain them for people with the correct explanation from the Book and the Sunnah and from the sayings of the scholars of the Salaf al-Salih (the righteous predecessors). This is explaining what is ijtihad, rather it is explaining them and clarifying them. As for innovating usul or something of the 'aqeedah for which there is no Book or Sunnah, this is not permissible for anyone, it is not within the authority of anyone, and ijtihad does not enter into it at all.