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SpiritualRoadmapbyGhazali, page : 72
has been no explicit ruling? Is it by the letter of the law (nass)? But you have not
heard it. Is it by your independent interpretation (Ijtihad) and opinion (ra‟y)? That
is precisely the place where differences occur”.
To this we reply: “We do what Mu`ath did when the Messenger of Allah, peace
be upon him, sent him to the Yemen; we judge by the actual text where there is a
25
text, and by our independent reasoning where there is no text.¹ That is exactly
what their preachers do when they are away from the Imam at the remotest
corners of the land. They cannot in all cases judge by the text, for the texts which
are finite in number cannot deal with all the infinite variety of events; nor is it
possible for them to return to the city of the Imam over every difficult case-while
the preacher is traveling there and back the person concerned may have died,
and the journey will have been fruitless. For instance, if a man is in doubt about
the qiblah,² the only course open to him is to pray according to his independent
judgment. If he were to go to the city of the Imam to obtain a knowledge of the
heard it. Is it by your independent interpretation (Ijtihad) and opinion (ra‟y)? That
is precisely the place where differences occur”.
To this we reply: “We do what Mu`ath did when the Messenger of Allah, peace
be upon him, sent him to the Yemen; we judge by the actual text where there is a
25
text, and by our independent reasoning where there is no text.¹ That is exactly
what their preachers do when they are away from the Imam at the remotest
corners of the land. They cannot in all cases judge by the text, for the texts which
are finite in number cannot deal with all the infinite variety of events; nor is it
possible for them to return to the city of the Imam over every difficult case-while
the preacher is traveling there and back the person concerned may have died,
and the journey will have been fruitless. For instance, if a man is in doubt about
the qiblah,² the only course open to him is to pray according to his independent
judgment. If he were to go to the city of the Imam to obtain a knowledge of the