Investigating the Methodology of Ijtihād in New Issues

Methodology is a branch of the philosophy of knowledge that deals with issues that are useful in understanding the methodology of a science and discusses research methods, sources, tools and disadvantages. Ijtihād means action or the faculty of deduction of religious rulings from its proofs. The new issue is a subject that is new and whose religious edict is not to be found in religious texts.. There are two reasons for not finding a Sharʿī verdict regarding a new issue: 1- There was no issue at the time of issuance of transmitted traditions; 2- There were issues at the time of issuance, but its features, conditions, and limitations were changed in the present time, which requires a new injunction. Ijtihād in these issues is based on the existence of edict for all the issues, expansion of ijtihad, and refereeing the proof of new issue to the trinary sources (i.e. The Quran, Transmitted traditions and Reason), in which one must adhere to jurisprudential principles and have a thorough understanding of the subject and consider spatial and temporal conditions.  There are two types of proofs to deduce the edict: Ijtihādī and Fiqāhati proofs. The Ijtihādī proofs include the Necessities of Islam, Wisdom, Custom of wise (Sīrat al-ʿUqalāʾ), Generalities and Absoluteness, Uṣūlī rules, Jurisprudential rules, Modification (Tanqīḥ al-Mināṭ) , Motive-indicated analogy (Qīyās Manṣuṣ al-ʿIllah), Prioritized analogy (Qīyās al-Awlawīyyah), Abolition of peculiarity (Ilghāʾ al-Khuṣūṣīyyah), Custom (al-ʿUrf), Macro-jurisprudence strategies and expediency. Jurisprudential proofs include the Principle of continuity (al-Istiṣḥāb), the Principle of exemption (Aṣālat al-Barāʾah), the Principle of choice (Aṣālat al-Takhyyīr) , and the Principle of precaution (Aṣālat al-Iḥtīyāṭ). Developing from current jurisprudence to ideal, promotion from passive Jurisprudence to active, having social approach in Ijtihād, havinga comprehensive look in Ijtihād, specializing the discussions of Fiqh and to promote from traditional subjectology to the scientific, are the necessities of Ijtihād in new issues. There are numerous damages in deducing new issues, such as inaccuracies in understanding the subject, incorrect matching of Generalities and Absoluteness to the issue, slip in identifying the Interests and spoilers of the issue, mixing different issues, Impose on Shariʿah, contrariety and landing in the trap of modernism.  This article examines the methodology of Ijtihād in new issues through analytical descriptive research method and library documents.