Lesson video

Hello, my name is Ms. Ramalli, and welcome to today's RE lesson, which forms part of our unit, Religious Law: What is the Social Context and Relevance Today? In today's lesson, we are going to be exploring the interpretation of Shariah using the method of is ijtihad.

Okay, let's start today's lesson.

Today's lesson outcome is I can explain the meaning of ijtihad and how it might be interpreted and applied by Muslims today.

To help guide us through our learning in today's lesson, we have four key words.

Our key words are Hadith, ijtihad, interpretation, and Shariah.

Hadith is the recorded words of the Prophet Muhammad.

Ijtihad is a human effort and reasoning used to work out the Shariah.

Interpretation is the actions of explaining the meaning of something, and Shariah is a set of moral and religious laws that guide Muslims. Today's lesson on interpreting Shariah using ijtihad, it takes two parts.

So we will start today's lesson by exploring the meaning of ijtihad and then we move on to consider the interpretation using ijtihad.

Have you ever faced a moral dilemma and you didn't know what decision to make? If so, who might you ask or what might you check to help make your moral decision? What if you had to make a moral decision when no one told you the answer and you had to think deeply about what's right? Most Muslims look to Shariah when making moral decisions.

Shariah refers to a set of moral and religious laws that guide Muslims. The scriptural foundations of Shariah are the Qur'an, which are the words of Allah, and the Hadith, which are the recorded words of the Prophet Muhammad.

Okay, let's just check that you've understood what we've just heard.

Select the meaning of Shariah: A, the actions of Prophet Muhammad that are recorded in The Hadith.

B, a set of moral and religious laws that guide Muslims, or C, the human effort and reasoning used to work out the Shariah.

Pause the video and then press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Well done if you said the correct answer is B, the meaning of Shariah is a set of moral and religious laws that guide Muslims. When Prophet Muhammad was alive, Muslims were able to ask him questions directly.

Muhammad's death in 632 CE presented a challenge.

As time went on, new ideas emerged and Islam spread to different countries and encountered different worldviews.

Muslims could refer to the Shariah, but it did not always have a clear answer causing different interpretations to emerge.

Alex has a question about using Shariah.

He speaks to Iqbal, who is a Muslim living in the UK.

Alex asks, "Can you apply Shariah to all situations Iqbal?" Iqbal says, "No.

Shariah cannot always be applied.

I believe that the Qur'an and Hadith do not give direct answers to every moral issue since it was revealed 1400 years ago.

For newer issues, Muslim scholars have developed ijtihad.

Ijtihad is the use of human reason and Islamic sources to come to a conclusion." The term ijtihad comes from the word jihad, which means struggle, effort, or fight.

For example, the effort or struggle to find the answer.

Ijtihad is the human effort of interpreting the Qur'an and Hadith, which combined is the Shariah, to identify the best action today.

Okay, now we're gonna pause and complete a check for understanding.

I would like you to select the meaning of ijtihad.

A, a Holy War, B, Actions of Prophet Muhammad that are recorded in the Hadiths.

C, human effort and reasoning used to work out the Shariah or D, a copy of the Shariah law.

Pause the video here and then press play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, well done if you said the correct answer is C, the meaning of ijtihad is human effort and reasoning used to work out the Shariah.

Alex wants to speak to a different Muslim about using ijtihad.

So he speaks to Sarah, who is a Muslim living in the UK.

Alex asks, "Did the Prophet Muhammad agree with using ijtihad?" Sarah replies, "Yes even during his lifetime.

There is a famous story about this in the Hadith.

The Prophet sent one his companions, Muadh, to a judge in Yemen.

When Muadh was about to set off, the Prophet asked him how he would make judgements." This is a conversation found in the Hadith.

The Prophet said, "According to what will you judge?" Muadh answers, "According to the Book of Allah." The Prophet responds, "And if you find nothing?" Muadh said, "According to your Sunnah." The conversation continued.

The Prophet asked, "And if you find nothing?" Muadh replies, "Then I shall try my best to form my own judgement ." Prophet said, "Praise be to Allah." This Hadith is seen by many Muslims to allow the use of ijtihad.

True or false.

Prophet Muhammad disagreed with using ijtihad.

Well done if you said the correct answer is false.

Prophet Muhammad agreed with using ijtihad.

Ijtihad is required to address new situations that are not addressed in the Qur'an or Hadith.

These issues may include use of the internet, use of nuclear weapons and the use of new medicines.

Alex has a question about ijtihad.

He asks, "Can any Muslim perform ijtihad, Iqbal?" Iqbal replies, "No, traditionally, only high level Muslim scholars can perform ijtihad.

This is because it requires in-depth knowledge of the Qur'an, Islamic history and the Arabic language.

Different scholars may come to different conclusions depending on their ijtihad." True or false? Ijtihad is another source of authority for Muslims. Pause the video and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, welcome back.

Well done if you said this statement is false.

Ijtihad is the human effort of interpreting the Shariah.

Remember the Shariah is the Qur'an and Hadith to identify the best action today.

Okay, time to pause and complete our first practise task.

So here you are gonna demonstrate your understanding of the meaning of ijtihad.

I would like you to complete the following sentences to show your understanding of the meaning of ijtihad and why it is required.

So here are the sentence starters that I would like you to complete.

Ijtihad comes from the word.

which means.

The meaning of is ijtihad is.

Ijtihad is needed because.

New situations may include.

Good luck completing the practise task, pause the video and then press play when you're ready to check your answers.

Okay, welcome back everyone.

Let's check your answers for the first practise task.

So your answers may look like this.

Ijtihad comes from the words jihad, which means struggle, effort, or fight.

The meaning of ijtihad is the human effort used to work out the Shariah.

Ijtihad is needed because new situations arise, which aren't referred to in the Qur'an or Hadith.

New situations may include use of the internet, use of nuclear weapons and use of new medicines.

Fantastic, well done on all of your hard work completing the first practise task.

So that moves us on to the second part of our lesson on interpreting Shariah using ijtihad.

So in this second part of today's lesson, we are going to consider the interpretation using ijtihad.

Think about a topic that you and your family or friends may discuss.

I'd like to consider whether or not you always agree.

For example, who is the best female solo artist? Which football team is the best? Well the likelihood is that you do not always agree with others even when you have things in common.

The same applies when Muslim scholars use ijtihad.

Different scholars may reach different conclusions.

When ijtihad is used, Muslim scholars look at the Islamic source and ask structured questions such as what is being said, is the source authentic? Who was this said to? Is this an order or advice? Can the words be understood differently and does this still apply today? So we are going to look at a case study.

So here's a case study and we're gonna use ijtihad to think about nuclear weapons.

So in the Qur'an it states, "Fight in the way of Allah, those who fight you but do not transgress the limits." So what I'd like you to do here is consider how might this first be interpreted and how might this first be interpreted in relation to the use of nuclear weapons.

So with your partner or in a small group, or perhaps you'd like to take some time on your own to reflect, consider how this verse might be interpreted.

Pause the video and press play when you're ready to move on with the lesson.

Okay, welcome back.

So let's consider this verse in more detail using ijtihad.

So first of all, consider the question well, what is being said? So the verse could be interpreted to mean fighting self-defense rather than going beyond the limits.

Another question to consider, is the source authentic? Well, this verse is taken from the Qur'an and the Qur'an is the word of God.

Who was this said to? So this is a Qur'anic instruction from God given to Muslims for all time.

Can the words be understood differently? No.

The important idea here is what is meant by limits.

Does this still apply today? The word limits has been interpreted to me not hurting innocent people or causing unnecessary harm, staying within what was allowed.

So what conclusion does scholars come to using ijtihad to think about nuclear weapons? Well, some conclusions that could be drawn could be when nuclear weapons are not mentioned in the Qur'an.

The verse in the Qur'an can then be interpreted to mean that nuclear weapons are not acceptable in Islam.

This is because they go beyond the limit because of the destruction they cause.

True or false, the Qur'an does not mention nuclear weapons.

So Muslims think they are acceptable.

Pause the video and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Well done if you said that statement is false, Muslim scholars can use ijtihad and apply it to other verses that refer to fighting in the Qur'an.

This can then be interpreted to mean that nuclear weapons are not acceptable in Islam.

Alex is confused about why some Muslims start the month of Ramadan on different days.

He asks, "Why do my Muslim friends at school start fasting for Ramadan on different days Iqbal?" Iqbal says, "Prophet Muhammad said, whenever you sight the new moon of the month of Ramadan, observe the fast, and when you sight the new moon at the end, break it.

If the sky is cloudy for you, then fast for 30 days.

This leads to different interpretations of the Islamic calendar." When Prophet Muhammad was alive and many centuries after his death, people could only use their naked eye to see the moon.

Today, we have many ways to see the moon including the naked eye telescopes and moon maps to tell us if the moon is there.

Islamic experts have legal opinions using ijtihad that differ.

You must use only the naked eye still, you can use a telescope.

You don't even have to see it as long as the moon map shows it is there.

Ahmed and Iqbal, who are both Muslim, discuss their understanding of the Islamic calendar.

Ahmed says, "I believe that the new moon crescent needs to be seen physically using the naked eye.

That is how you know there is a new month." Iqbal says, "I believe that the new moon crescent can be known through astronomical calculations rather than using the naked eye.

That is how I calculate the new month.

How does this explain why Muslims might start fasting for Ramadan on different days? Pause the video here and with your partner, discuss that question.

Press play when you're ready to move on with the lesson.

Okay, so maybe in your discussions you identified that different Muslims have different interpretations or the scholars have different interpretations of how to spot a new moon.

And that would explain why different Muslims might start fasting for Ramadan on different days.

True or false, all Muslim scholars agree on how to spot a new moon.

Well done if you said this statement is false.

Different scholars will interpret sources differently, meaning there is a diversity of opinion about issues such as the Eid moon sighting.

Okay, so now we're gonna pause, complete our second practise task.

Andeep, Sofia, Lucas and Aisha are discussing how scholars interpret using ijtihad.

Explain who is incorrect and why.

Andeep says, "There is no diversity of opinion about issues such as the new moon sighting." Sofia says, "Muslim scholars look at the Qur'an and Hadith and ask questions." Lucas says, "Ijtihad can be applied to new issues such as the use of nuclear weapons." And Aisha says, "The challenge of using ijtihad is that there is not one agreed interpretation." So remember, for this practise task, you need to explain who is incorrect and explain your reasons why.

Good luck completing the practise task.

Pause the video and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, welcome back everybody.

It's time to check your answer.

So remember Andeep, Sofia, Lucas, and Aisha are discussing how scholars interpret using ijtihad.

Explain who is incorrect and why.

So your answer may have included the following points.

Andeep is wrong in his answer, because he incorrectly states that there is no diversity of opinion about issues such as the new moon sighting.

One of the challenges of using the method of ijtihad to interpret the Shariah is that there is not one agreed interpretation or conclusion amongst all Muslim scholars.

Fantastic, well done on completing your second and final practise task.

So that brings us to the end of today's lesson on interpreting Shariah using ijtihad and as a summary of our key learning points.

Prophet Muhammad's death presented a challenge because the Shariah did not always have a clear answer to newer issues.

Ijtihad is the use of human reason and Islamic sources to come to a conclusion.

Prophet Muhammad agreed with using the method of ijtihad.

The method of ijtihad can be applied to modern issues such as the use of the internet and nuclear weapons.

Different scholars will interpret sources differently, and there is a diversity of opinion about issues such as the Eid moon sighting and use of weapons of mass destruction.

Fantastic, well done on all of your hard work in today's RE lesson and thank you very much for joining me.

Goodbye.