The Ruling on the Ijtihad of the Prophets in Their Laws
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The ijtihad of the prophets?
Answer:
A prophet exercises ijtihad in what appears to him of the Shari'ah he was sent with.
Q: Did Dawud and Sulayman not have a Shari'ah?
The Shaykh: Yes, they had one, but no revelation came to them regarding this; these were instances of ijtihad, just as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) may judge based on ijtihad, or he may judge based on revelation.
Q: If the ijtihad is not correct...?
The Shaykh:, just as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said.
Q: If their ijtihad is correct, are they confirmed by Allah in that?
The Shaykh: Yes.
Q: Or does revelation descend?
The Shaykh: Revelation may descend, or they may be confirmed in their ijtihad, in which case they receive the reward for ijtihad, while the reward for being correct is lost. There is no evidence that revelation descends; he may exercise ijtihad.
Q: Is there an example of a case?
The Shaykh: Such as what was said in the hadith of Umm Salama in the two Sahihs:Bulugh al-Maram 1404 This means ijtihad.
The ijtihad of the prophets?
Answer:
A prophet exercises ijtihad in what appears to him of the Shari'ah he was sent with.
Q: Did Dawud and Sulayman not have a Shari'ah?
The Shaykh: Yes, they had one, but no revelation came to them regarding this; these were instances of ijtihad, just as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
I judge among you based on what I hear
إني أقضي لكم بنحو ما أسمعQ: If the ijtihad is not correct...?
The Shaykh:
If he is correct, he has two rewards, and if he is wrong, he has one reward
إن أصاب فله أجران، وإن أخطأ فله أجرQ: If their ijtihad is correct, are they confirmed by Allah in that?
The Shaykh: Yes.
Q: Or does revelation descend?
The Shaykh: Revelation may descend, or they may be confirmed in their ijtihad, in which case they receive the reward for ijtihad, while the reward for being correct is lost. There is no evidence that revelation descends; he may exercise ijtihad.
Q: Is there an example of a case?
The Shaykh: Such as what was said in the hadith of Umm Salama in the two Sahihs:
you bring your disputers to me, and perhaps some of you are more eloquent in their plea than others, so that I give judgement on their behalf according to what I hear from them. Therefore, whatever I rule for anyone which by right belongs to his brother, I am only granting him a portion of Hell-fire.
تختصمون إليّ ولعل بعضكم أن يكون ألحن بحجته من بعض فأقضي له بنحو ما أسمع، فمن قطعت له من حق أخيه شيئًا فإنما أقطع له قطعة من النار فليحملها أو ليذرها
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.