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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Al-Nass Wal-Ijtihad, Text and Interpretation Introduction By Allama Sayyid Muhammad Taqi al-Hakeem Professor of Usool in the college of Muntada an-Nashr and the general secretary of the society of Muntada an-Nashr I am now before a book that has a great scientific value. It has been written by a man having the favor of teachership and education on the most of the researchers of doctrinism of this generation.

The cultural assembly of Muntada an-Nashr wanted me to be honored by writing an introduction for this book to shed some lights on the contents of some of its scientific words and then to evaluate it and to show its aspects and main characteristics and after that to talk about the personality of the author to show some of his immortal qualities. As I am confined to obey the will of the assembly, so I have no choice to avoid this decision though I think that I do not deserve this honor.

Writing an introduction to this book to define some of its idioms and to clear the importance of its researches takes us in the first to a group of the teachers of the science of Usool al-Fiqh (the principles of jurisprudence) to get their opinions on defining some concepts mentioned in the book, whose author has used the same idioms that they use. The first thing that faces us is the title of the book “an-Nass wal Ijtihad”.

What has the author meant by the word “an-Nass” and what has he meant by “al-Ijtihad” and what does the comparison between them lead to? I think that answering these three questions with all their surroundings will be enough to understand all the concepts mentioned in the book.

The professors answer the question of “ an-Nass ”[^1] that it is “the literal evidence that expresses the legal verdict and that has been proved from the legislator (Allah or His prophet) in irrefutable way or according to supposition that is regarded legally and rationally whether the source is the Book or the Sunna”. Of course the author of this book has not intended other than this meaning as it appears from his researches.

As for the question of “ ijtihad ”, they answered with many answers different according to their different thoughts and points of view although the differences between them had nothing to do to the essence. It seems from their words that they have two idioms about this word; one is more specified than the other.