Diligence :

Define : careful and persistent work or effort.

= "Idjtihâd" (the Arabic term for diligence) means to do one’s utmost to carry out or realize a given matter, either physical or abstract.

= In the Islamic Sharia, it is to strive to perceive the legal stances and deduce them from their sources and proofs.

= The legitimacy of diligence is affirmed in the Noble Qur’an as well as in the Sunna.
The Almighty Allah said: «And those who respond to their Lord and establish prayer and who in matters other than those Allah has decreed, conduct them by mutual consultation, and who expend of what we have bestowed on them». [Surat Ash-Shûra/The Consultation, 38], consultation, in fact, requires making every effort to seek the truth about a given matter.
The prophet Muhammad -may peace be upon him- said: «If a judge strived and made a sound and right judgment, he will be rewarded twice. And if he strives and made a wrong judgment, he will be rewarded once». [Reported by Muslim, El Bukhari and Ahmed]
When the prophet Muhammad -may peace be upon him- sent Muâd Bnu Djabal to Yemen he said: «How you will judge if a matter is exposed to you? ». Muâd answered: "I will judge according to Allah’s Book”. The prophet said: «And if it is not mentioned in Allah’s Book? ». He answered: "So, I will judge in accordance with the prophet’ Sunna". The prophet said: «And if it is not mentioned in the prophet’ Sunna? ». He said: "I will exert myself to the utmost of my power and spare no effort". Muâd said: then the prophet beat me on my chest and said: «Praise be to Allah who granted success to the messenger of His Messenger to what pleases Allah and His messenger». [Reported by Ahmed, Abu Dawud and Et-Tirmidi]

CONDITIONS

Diligence can be possible only if the following requirements are fulfilled:
1- The diligent must be cognizant (having knowledge or being aware of) of the Noble Qur’an especially the verses that contain the injunctions (an authoritative warning or order.) . The diligent is not obliged to learn the verses by heart.
2- He must know the reasons of revelation, for they help him understand the texts.
3- He must be well acquainted with the Sunna of the prophet Muhammad -may peace be upon him- mainly the Ahadith that contain divine injunctions.
4- He must be aware of the circumstances in which the Hadith is said in order to understand its meaning and purpose.
5- He must be cognizant of the abrogative and the abrogated texts in the Qur’an and the Sunna. This is required to know the texts that the diligent is going to use as proofs in order to confirm a given divine injunction.
6- He must be acquainted with the rules of the Arabic language. In addition, he has to be aware of the Arabic words’ connotations and denotations. This enables the diligent to understand the meaning of the verses and the Ahadith that embody the injunctions.
7- He must know the foundations of Fiqh (Ussul El-Fiqh); the diligent needs means and rules of Ussul that enable him to deduce stances from a verse or a Hadith.
8- He must know the questions upon which there was unanimity. The diligent, by knowing them, do not deliver legal opinions which may be contradictory with what was agreed on by affirmed unanimity.
9- The diligent must be aware of people statuses and customs. This leads him to a right and sound diligence and helps him to better realize the occurrences upon which he applies the appropriate texts.
10- He must have knowledge of the main aims of the Islamic Sharia for which the Qur’an was revealed and which the Sunna came to preserve.
11- He must be just and pious. These criteria are required not for the rightness of his diligence but rather for the acceptance of his Fatawa.

Aspects of diligence

1- Fatawa (legal opinion): it means to give a legal opinion about a given matter. This fact had been existed since the Sahaba’s epoch and the most famous Muftees at that period were: Muâad bnu Djabal, Omar Ibnu Al-Khatab, Zeid bnu Thabit and so many others -may Allah be pleased with them. Nowadays, the ways and the means of delivering Fatawa differ and vary; they are delivered through mosques and through Medias, and some of them are even collected in books. Among these books:
- Fatawa of Rachid Reda that are published in El-Manar Magazine.
- The Summary of the Egyptian Fatawa of Ibnu Taimiyya collected in 32 volumes.
- Fatawa of Muhammad Shaltat: the study of the contemporary Muslim matters in his daily life.
- Contemporary Fatawa of Sheikh Yucuf El-Qaradawi. Some of them are published in some Magazines, among them:
- The Islamic Consciousness Magazine.
- The Islamic Fiqh Complex Magazine. 2- Studies and researches: they consist of high studies like Master, Doctorate and researches about Islamic Fiqh issues.
Diligence is also required in the new matters that are related to medicine, economy…, it is also obligatory to keep away from the issues dealt with. 3- Codification: it is the codification of the Islamic Fiqh in specific articles in order to facilitate for the judges its application, and to enable the litigants to know and be aware of it. The first Magazine to be published in this domain is the Judicial Rules Magazine. This was at the end of the 13th Hegirian century. The Ottoman Caliph (reign) established a committee of Ulemas for the codification of the rules of transaction according to the Hanafi Fiqh, then it issued the Family Code in 1336 Hegira which corresponds to 1917 AD. After that, there were many codes that had been issued and which were based on the Islamic Fiqh, among them:
- The Inheritance Code: it was issued in Egypt in 1943 AD.
- The Mortmain Code: it was issued in Egypt in 1946 AD.
- The Civil Code: it was issued in Yemen in 1979 AD.
- The Legal Evidence Code: it was issued in Yemen in 1976 AD.
- The Jordanian Family Rights Code: it was issued in 1951 AD.
- The Syrian Personal Status Code: it was issued in 1953 AD.
- The Tunisian Individual Status Magazine: it was issued in 1956 AD.
- The Moroccan Individual Status Code: it was issued in 1957 AD.
- The Iraqi Individual Status Code: it was issued in 1959 AD.
- The Algerian Family Code: it was issued in 1984 AD.

defects of the contemporary diligence

Some defects of the contemporary diligence
1- Ignoring some divine sources: the diligent gives his legal opinion about a matter though it is mentioned in a text (Qur’an or Sunna). Originally, diligence should be resorted to only if there is no legal text about a given matter.
- It was reported that the prophet Muhammad -may peace be upon him- said to Muâd when he sent him to Yemen as a judge: «How you will judge if a matter is exposed to you? ». Muâd answered: "I will judge according to Allah’s Book”. The prophet said: «And if it is not mentioned in Allah’s Book? ». He answered: "So, I will judge in accordance with the prophet’ Sunna". The prophet said: «And if it is not mentioned in the prophet’ Sunna? ». He said: "I will exert myself to the utmost of my power and spare no effort". Muâd said: then the prophet beat me on my chest and said: «Praise be to Allah who granted success to the messenger of His Messenger to what pleases Allah and His messenger».
- In a letter sent by the Commander of the Faithful, Omar Ibnu El-Khatab, to Shureih El-Qadi, he said: "Judge according to the Book of Allah, if nothing is mentioned in it resort to the Sunna of the prophet. If you find nothing in the Sunna, judge in accordance with what had been done by the pious. Otherwise, do your utmost and spare no effort".

2- Misunderstanding some texts or perverting them: it means that the diligent resorts to the divine sources but he misinterprets them. For example prohibition of wine in the following verse: «O you who believe! Most certainly intoxicants and gambling and idol worship and fortune telling are an abomination of Satan’s handiwork, so shun it, that you may prosper». [Surat Al-Mai’ida/The Table Spread, 90] is misinterpreted by the judge Saiîd El-Aâshmawi. According to him, the word “shun it” does not imply prohibition.
In reality, the word “Idjtinab” in the Arabic language which means “shunning something” implies total or absolute prohibition. Allah the Great when He warned about polytheism, obscenity and major sins, He used the word “shun”. He -High Exalted is He- said: «…And whoever venerates the sanctity of that ordained by Allah, it shall be better for him with his Lord. And permitted to you are all cattle, except that which has been recited to you. And shun the abomination of idols, and shun the speaking of falsehood». [Surat Al-Hajj/The Pilgrimage, 30], in addition to this, there is much sound Ahadith which state clearly and affirm the prohibition of wine.

3- The wrong analogy: it means the analogy that is made between two things which have different causes.
The Jews, for instance, allowed usury taking into account the following rule: “No economy without banks, and there are no banks without usurious benefits”. But Allah the Great forbade usury in His saying: «Those who devour usury will not stand except as one whom Satan has prostrated by his touch will stand. This is because they say: “trading is like usury”. But Allah has allowed trading and forbidden usury. So whoever takes the admonition from his Lord and desists, he shall have his past gains and his matter is for Allah, but whoever reverts, those are the inhabitants of the Fire, to dwell there forever». [Surat Al-Baqara/The Heifer, 275]
Another invalid analogy is that in which the marriage of a Muslim woman (Christian or Jewish) with a non Muslim man is compared to the marriage of a Muslim man with a non Muslim woman.

4- Disregarding the affirmed unanimity: among the conditions of diligence the knowledge of the matters upon which there was unanimity among the Ulemas, like the agreement of the Ulemas upon the lawfulness of the marriage of a Muslim man with a non Muslim woman, and their forbiddance of the marriage of a Muslim woman with a Muslim man even if he is a man of the Book (Christian or Jewish).

5- Ignoring the actualities of the era: as a result of this, the emergence of what is called "Justified Fiqh" (i.e. the Faqih in such Fiqh searches for excuses for his deeds and sayings). For example, allowing usury on the pretext of being one of the characteristics of the actual banks and the economic transactions. There is also the appearance of another type of Fiqh which denies the recent and the new developments like organs transplantation. The latter is forbidden, according to this Fiqh, because the body of human being is sacred and thus inviolable. This Fiqh also rejects the new methods adopted in regulating justice for they are not mentioned in any divine text.

6- Extravagance in considering the interest without any legal restrictions: for example, allowing adoption in order to realize the interests of the foundlings; performing the congregational Friday prayer in Sunday to ensure the gathering of a lot of persons in prayer; concealing the legal permission because of being unnecessary like the shortening of prayers (i.e. instead of performing four prostrations in a prayer that requires four bowings, we perform two only), and the combination of two prayers in case of a journey (to pray the Isha prayer at the time of Maghrib or to delay the Dhohr prayer to combine it with Assr) since the means of transportation are speedy and comfortable.

8. Some examples about the contemporary diligence

The category of diligent

A) The absolute or independent diligent: He is the one who is eligible to deduce the practical divine injunctions from their detailed arguments (in the Qur’an and Sunna) without limiting himself to a specific doctrine. Among these independent diligent figures some Fuqaha among the Sahaba and among the Tabiîn (the people who met or accompanied any of the prophet’s companions). * ØThe Fuqaha among the Sahaba
- In Medina: The four Orthodox Caliph, Zeid bnu Thabit, Ubei bnu Kaâb, Abdul Allah bnu Omar, Aisha (the Mother of the Faithful) - may Allah be pleased with them.
- In Mecca: Abdul Allah bnu Abbas.
- In Cufa: Abdul Allah bnu Massud.
- In Basra: Anas bnu Malik, Abu Mussa El-Ashâari.
- In Damascus: Muâad bnu Djabal.
- In Egypt: Abdu Allah bnu Amru bnu Al-Ass. * ØThe Fuqaha among the Tabiîn
- In Medina: Urwa bnu Ez-Zubeir, Saîd bnu El-Mussaib.
- In Cufa: Saîd bnu Djâbir. * ØThe four Imams, El-Awzaîi, Layth bnu Saâd… B) The restricted or dependant diligent: He is the one who has received education from a specific Fiqh School and restricted himself to its Fiqh. He imitates his Imam and never breaks away with his Fiqh.
There are three types of a dependant diligent:
a) A diligent that imitates his Imam in his method and way of deducing legal injunctions like Abu Yucef, Muhammad Ibnu Hassan and Zufar who imitate the Hanafi doctrine; Ashhab bnu Al-Qa’ssim who imitates the Maliki doctrine, the judge Abu Yaâla and Ibnu Taimiyya who imitate the Hanbali doctrine.
b) The diligent that sticks to the foundations (Ussul) of his Imam’s doctrine and joins the branches with the foundations established in this doctrine, but strives in the frame of the doctrine’s rules (it is a kind of a doctrinal diligence). The famous diligent of this kind are: Imam Et-Thawri, El-Karkhi and Es-Sarkhassi in the Hanafi doctrine.
c) The diligent that chooses between the reported opinions of a given doctrine relying on the power of the arguments or on the extent of their suitability for the epoch (this is more appropriate, more suitable for analogy and more lenient with people). Abu Bakr Ar-Razi, known as Al Djassass, is an example of those who follow this method. He is a diligent who knows well his Imam’s doctrine (the Hanafi doctrine) and is more cognizant of his arguments. C) The Specialized diligent: He is the one who is specialized in a given discipline. This is allowed in Islam because this epoch is an epoch of specialization (in sciences) like the diligent in matters of analogy, the diligent in the law of inheritance (Ilmu Al-Fara’idh)…

The types of diligence

1- The selective or preponderant diligence
The divergent and different opinions that the Fiqh patrimony contains permitted for the diligent and the Muftees to select the Fiqh opinion that relies on a sound argument and strong evidence. For instance, the opinion of the Ulemas concerning the divorce in which the husband utters the word "divorce" many times is not the same. Some of them see that it is a disunion in which the husband has no right to take his divorcee again (i.e. irrevocable divorce) except if the latter gets divorced or widowed from a second marriage. But Ibnu Taimiyya, Ibnu El-Qayyim and others claim that divorce in such a case takes no effect because it is a heretical and innovative one. The Muftee, in that case, can select the most appropriate opinion. 2- The creative diligence
The diligent must keep pace with the new matters and the new questions and has to show their Islamic stances: if they are allowed, recommended or prohibited. Among these new matters organs transplantation, womb’s chartering, the economic transactions…
The creative diligence, in fact, handles either the new matters or the matters that have been already dealt with but by another way or with new additions. For example, who is concerned with paying Zakat (legal alms) in case of land tenancy?
Some Ulemas say that Zakat is to be paid by the landlord (the land owner) and others claim that it should be paid by the tenant. But Ibnu Ruchd, in his book “The Beginning of the Diligent”, advocated that this divergence in opinions is due to Zakat itself. That is, their difference is on what Zakat should be paid? Is it on the land or on the crops that it produces? he said that Zakat is to be paid on both of them.

EVIDENCE

The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, educated the Ummah (Muslim Nation) in different ways on how to be diligent. For instance, he urged Muslims to earn a living and provide from their own work, saying: “Nobody has ever eaten a meal better than that which he has earned from working with his own hands. The prophet of Allaah, Daawood [David], would eat from the work of his own hands.” [Al-Bukhaari]

Moreover, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, assured people of the assistance of Allaah The Almighty, that He further increases the high motivation and ambition of people according to the sublimity of their ambition, saying: “Help from Allaah comes to the servant according to his diligence.” [Al-Bazzaar]

A person who takes diligence to be a slogan in life does not depend on his ancestors or family background, nor does he rely on boasting of his fathers and forefathers. Instead he builds his own glory, adding it to that of his forefathers'.
Quotations from Sages and Scholars