Mamnoon says Ijtehad specialists are needed today more than ever

Calls on ulema to help resolve contemporary issues though intellectual discourse

ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain on Tuesday urged ulema to revive the concept of Ijtehad for resolving the contemporary issues in the light of Quran and Sunnah.

He was talking to Maulana Salman Nadvi of South African University on Tuesday.

Salman Nadvi is son of Syed Sulaiman Nadwi the dean of Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulema, Lucknow.

Mentioning the importance of “Ijtihad” -intellectual consultation for effective implementation of reforms in society and Islamic teachings, Mamnoon urged the need for having specialised religious scholars who can take up this important task and address the issues of modern times.

President said religious scholars of the sub-continent played a valuable role in this regard, however pointed that with time gradually the matters shifted from reforms to traditions, which changed the entire situation.

Mamnoon said it was imperative that religious segments follow a broad minded approach towards the reformation of the society so as to achieve the desired objectives.

He said according to the true spirit of Islam it was necessary to seek guidance from Quran and Sunnah for the reformation of the society, by rising above the level of different schools of thought.

The president acknowledged services of Nadvi and his family for the propagation of Islam and the renaissance of Muslims in South Asia and said they were highly respected in this regard in the country.

Nadvi also delivered a lecture on “Role of Council of Islamic Ideology in Legislation and Expectations”.

In his lecture, he reviewed as to how at the time of recent legislation in Islamic countries the sectarian norms were incorporated in constitutional codes to address the basic social problems.

“Individually we can follow the formulated sects, but as a whole we need to evolve legislation on the basis of collective sense of Islamic Jurisprudence into consideration of the social situation,” he said.

CII Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz said the best way to solve the problems was to follow all basic principles of all sects.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 10^th, 2018.