Ijtihad and Interpretation
As for determining whether particular, concrete things fall under these names and expressions, this may at times be obvious and at other times subtle and in need of ijtihad. This is what the Lawgiver’s wording calls taʾwīl, a field in which jurists and others differ in rank. All of them share in preserving the sacred texts and their terms, or in memorizing the statements of jurists, linguists, physicians, and the like; yet they excel one another when one of them is the first to realize that the meaning found in a given case is precisely what the term intends. Thus a distinguished jurist may face a new incident and apply to it the words of the Lawgiver or of the jurists, just as a physician encounters a certain illness and applies to it the observations of medical authorities. For the books and statements transmitted from the prophets and the scholars speak of things in general, describing them by their qualities and signs; one must therefore ascertain that this specific instance is indeed the one described.
When the matter is subtle, some call it “ascertaining the operative factor” (taḥqīq al-manāṭ). The Lawgiver has tied the ruling to an attribute: He has conditioned the acceptance of testimony on the witness’s uprightness; He has conditioned the obligatory good companionship on it being according to what is customary; He has conditioned the required maintenance on customary norms; and He has conditioned the direction of prayer on turning toward the Sacred Mosque. The question then remains: is this particular orientation truly toward the Sacred Mosque? Is this person actually upright? Is this expenditure genuinely within customary bounds? Issues such as these demand specific investigation; they cannot be settled merely by reference to the name.
Ijtihad may likewise be required to decide whether certain categories are encompassed by the very meaning of the term—whether intoxicating beverages produced from sources other than grapes or dates fall under the name khamr; whether chess, backgammon, and similar games fall under the name maysir; whether prize money offered without the presence of a neutral third participant in horse racing or archery is included in that ruling; and whether sand and the like are covered by the term saʿīd used for dry ablution.