Nahdlatul Ulama and Collective Ijtihad

Hosen, N. 2004. "Nahdlatul Ulama and Collective Ijtihad". NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF ASIAN STUDIES. 6 (1): 5-26.

Studies on collective ijtihad (ijtihad jama`i), both in English and Arabic, are rare. The reason is that collective ijtihad is a new development in the process of Islamic law, not only in Indonesia but also throughout the Islamic world. Ijtihad in Islamic law can be defined simply as ‘interpretation.’ It is the most important sources of Islam law next to the Qur’an and the Sunnah. The main difference between ijtihad and both the Qur’an and the Sunnah (the traditions of the Prophet) is that ijtihad is a continuous process of development whereas the Qur’an and the Sunnah are fixed sources of authority and were not altered or added to after the death of the Prophet. Historically, ijtihad in Islamic tradition refers to the exercise of Islamic legal reasoning by a single `alim. If a group of `ulama exercise ijtihad, this activity is called by ijtihad jama`I (collective ijtihad).