قرن اول کے اجتہاد ات کی نوعیت و کیفیت : مقاصد شریعت کے ملاحظات کا تجزیاتی مطالعہ

The Formation and Development of Ijtihād Derived from the Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah in the First Islamic Century: An Analytical Study

Abstract

This study examines the emergence, nature, and development of early Islamic ijtihād as shaped by the foundational objectives of the Sharīʿah (Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah) during the first Islamic century. The research argues that although the formal theory of Maqāṣid had not yet been systematized, its essential principles, such as the preservation of religion, life, intellect, lineage, and property, were implicitly operative in the legal reasoning of the Prophet’s Companions and their Followers. This period represents a formative phase in which juristic interpretation evolved organically in response to new social, political, and administrative challenges arising after the expansion of the Muslim community. The study explores how early jurists employed various forms of reasoning, such as analogical deduction (qiyās), public interest (maṣlaḥah), custom (ʿurf), and contextual assessment, to address unprecedented issues. It highlights the methodological flexibility of this era, wherein jurists balanced textual fidelity with the practical needs of a rapidly expanding civilization. The paper further analyzes prominent examples of early ijtihād, demonstrating how decisions were guided by higher-order values even when explicit scriptural directives were absent. By tracing the developmental trajectory of ijtihād across the first century, the study reveals a gradual transition from intuitive, case-based reasoning toward more structured legal principles. This analytical exploration underscores that early Islamic juristic thought, though unsystematized in terminology, was deeply rooted in objectives-oriented reasoning that ultimately laid the groundwork for later Maqāṣid theory and classical schools of Islamic jurisprudence.