The Conditions and Qualifications for Ijtihad
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The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. The questioner says: Some students of knowledge say that the conditions mentioned by some scholars for ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) are not to be considered, because the Companions and the Tabi'un (the generation after the Companions) did not possess these qualifications and conditions.
The Shaykh:
Qualifications? Those who took knowledge from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not have these qualifications? Glory to Allah! What is this dull talk? They had the qualifications of the students of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And the Tabi'un took from the Companions; they studied under the Companions as well. Did they not have qualifications? You are worth nothing in their eyes, and you have no knowledge that matches the soles of their sandals. How can you speak in this manner? You are making a mistake regarding the scholars? Yes.
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. The questioner says: I am the imam of a mosque, and people come to me seeking a fatwa (a scholarly legal ruling) on some contemporary issues,
The Shaykh:
Also, are you, O you who say this, like Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Malik, Imam al-Shafi'i, and Imam Ahmad? Are you like them? These are the mujtahids (scholars qualified to derive rulings) because they possess the conditions of ijtihad. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. The questioner says: Some students of knowledge say that the conditions mentioned by some scholars for ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) are not to be considered, because the Companions and the Tabi'un (the generation after the Companions) did not possess these qualifications and conditions.
The Shaykh:
Qualifications? Those who took knowledge from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not have these qualifications? Glory to Allah! What is this dull talk? They had the qualifications of the students of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And the Tabi'un took from the Companions; they studied under the Companions as well. Did they not have qualifications? You are worth nothing in their eyes, and you have no knowledge that matches the soles of their sandals. How can you speak in this manner? You are making a mistake regarding the scholars? Yes.
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. The questioner says: I am the imam of a mosque, and people come to me seeking a fatwa (a scholarly legal ruling) on some contemporary issues,
The Shaykh:
Also, are you, O you who say this, like Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Malik, Imam al-Shafi'i, and Imam Ahmad? Are you like them? These are the mujtahids (scholars qualified to derive rulings) because they possess the conditions of ijtihad. Yes.
Source
شرح إغاثة اللهفان من مصائد الشيطان لابن القيم، فصل ومن كيده الذي بلغ به من الجهال ما بلغ : الوسواس — islamhouse.com (1:06:02)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.