There were two methods of ijtihaad. One was the method of the 'ulamaa' of
Iraq, called the way of ra'y {choice} or the way of qiyaas {comparision}: if
it was not declared clearly in Qur'aan al-keriim or Hadiith ash-shariif how
to do an action, another action that was clearly expressed in Qur'aan
al-keriim or Hadiith ash-shariif and which was similar to the action in
question would be searched for. When it was found, the action in question
would be compared to it and done in a similar way. After the Sahaabat
al-kiraam {raziallaahu ta'aalaa anhum}, the leader of the mujtahids of this
way was Imaam al-A'zam Abu Haniifa {raziallaahu ta'aalaa anhu}.
The second way was the way of the 'ulamaa' of Hidjaaz, called the way of
riwaaya {tradition}. They considered the traditions of the inhabitants of
al-Madiinat al-Munawwara superior to qiyaas. The greatest of the mujtahids
of this way was Imaam Maalik {raziallaahu ta'aalaa anhu}, who lived in
al-Madiinat al-Munawwara. Al-Imaam ash-Shaafi'ii and Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal
{raziallaahu ta'aalaa anhuma} attended his sohbats. Al-Imaam ash-shaafi'ii,
after learning the way of Imaam Maalik, went to Baghdad and learned the way
of al-Imaam al-a'zam {raziallaahu ta'aalaa anhu} from his disciples and
united these two methods. He established a new approach for ijtihaad.
Because he was a very eloquent and literary man, he understood the context
of aayats and hadiiths and decided on each action in accordance with an
alternative he found more emphatic. When he could not find an alternative
strong enough, he himself employed ijtihaad according to the way of qiyaas.
Ahmad ibn Hanbal {raziallaahu ta'aalaa anhu} too, went to Baghdad after
learning the way of Imaam Maalik {raziallaahu ta'aalaa anhu}. There, he
acquired a method of qiyaas from the disciples of al-Imaam al-a'zam
{raziallaahu ta'aalaa anhu}. Yet, because he had memorized a great many
hadiiths, he employed ijtihaad first by examining the way whereby hadiiths
corroborated one another.
--
Faizan--e-Syed Aamir Kaleemi Shah
