Summary

In the context of Islamic jurisprudence, ijtihad refers to the process of legal reasoning and hermeneutics undertaken by a qualified jurist (mujtahid or faqih) to extract or infer a fresh probable legal ruling (fatwa) based on a particular set of principles and procedures. In principle, ijtihad remains a perpetual obligation that must be undertaken by a qualified jurist because it enables Muslims to resolve contemporary ethical issues. To implement appropriate legal norms addressing contemporary bioethical issues, jurists are required to formulate a legal theory and articulate new principles and procedures. Organ donation demonstrates the evolution of a legal ruling (tatawwur al-fiqh) within a revitalized ijtihad and in light of new information. The ever-increasing complexity and ever-widening scope of issues cropping up in Islamic bioethics demand a collective and a contextual ijtihad functioning at an institutional level (majmaʻ al-fiqhiyyah).