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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Ijtihad: Its Meaning, Sources, Beginnings and the Practice of Ra'y Conclusion From the nine reasons given above it can be concluded that the practice of ijtihad, in the sense of derivation of ahkam from Shar'i sources, existed during the era of the eleven Imams (S).?

The companions of the Imams (A) derived secondary ahkam from the legal sources, for issues for which there existed no nass either in the Book or in the Sunnah of the Prophet (S) or in riwdydt of the Ma'sumun (A), and this practice enjoyed the approval of the Imams (A). Ijtihad, a Perennial Spring The essential sources of Islamic law are the Quran, the Prophet's Sunnah, and the traditions of the Infallible Imams (A), which are the most vital source of man's spiritual life.

This is because the life and continuity of human societies depends on the existence of proper laws and regulations. These fundamental sources of law are like precious deposits in which the higher, transcendental teachings are kept in the form of general, universal - principles.

In order to extract this vital material from the core of general and universal principles and to use it for the fulfilment of multifarious needs of man's spiritual and corporeal existence, there is the need of some instrument and means. Such an instrument is provided by ijtihad.

Ijtihad, on the one hand, gives vigour and viability to legal thought and, on the other, does not allow the ahkam to remain in the outdated moulds of obsolete expressions and terms, by expounding them in the language of every age and in accordance with its needs. Although the Divine laws are fixed and unchangeable, the mode of their expression and exposition is subject to variation. A part of the function of ijtihad is to recognize the consequences arising from this fact.

Hence it has been said that ijtihad is an agent of renovation in fiqh, and that it is a force that operates in history by developing the scope of fiqh with the expansion of its applications. At the same time, ijtihad safeguards the stability of legislation through time.

Since the Sacred Lawgiver knew that various aspects of human life are subject to change its multifarious needs are open to variation, He recognized the role role of ijtihdd as a force which should emerge with the emergence of fiqh and remain in its service throughout the course of history in order to enable fiqh to fulfil the human need for law.