Shahid Motahari writes...

Shahid Motahari writes: ” the forbidden ijtihad, in our (Shiite) opinion, is legislating the law, that is, the mujtahid makes a ruling that is not in the Holy Qur’an and traditions with his own mind and his own opinion, and this in the term” ijtihad by the personal verdict.

This ijtihad is forbidden by the Shiites, but the Sunnis consider it permissible.” Sources of ijtihad The role of time and place in ijtihad does not mean that these two elements are considered as one of the sources of ijtihad; Because in traditional jurisprudence and ijtihad, that Imam believes in and inherited from the elders of his predecessors, the elements of time and place are not known as the source of ijtihad.

Professor Mohammad Ibrahim Janati writes: “Imam Khomeini, like other Imami mujtahids, accepts sources of ijtihad are the book (Qur’an), tradition, consensus, and reason, and in this regard was no different from other Imami mujtahids.

And same as prior scholars didn’t admit conjectural sources such as istiḥsān (juristic approbation).” The role of reason in inferring rulings According to this jurisprudential thought of Imam Khomeini, the intellect has a major role in inferring the rulings and discovering the criteria of the rulings. Hence, it has been proposed as an ijtihad source.

Of course, according to this idea, the intellect does not have the position that Sunni scholars believe in ijtihad by the personal verdict, nor is it so ineffective that the Akhbaris consider it a sin to follow it. The role of custom in recognizing customary subjects The role of the custom in identifying customary matters is very important and effective; however, the custom is not considered as a source of ijtihad. Imam Khomeini’s fatwa on playing chess is based on custom.

Revising the social rulings of Islam due to changing of the subject It has been stated before that the relation between the verdict and the subject is either the relation of cause and effect or quasi-cause and effect, there is no doubt that any change in the subject will affect the verdict. In other words, if the subject is changed, then the verdict is inescapably changed.