The Degree of Scholar Mulla Jiwan, Who Died in 1130 AH, in Ijtihad within the Hanafi School of Thought: an Applied Study through His Book Al-Tafsirat Al-Ahmadiyya

Abstract

The study aims to determine the rank of ijtihad (legal reasoning) held by the scholar Mulla Jiwan al-Hanafi and display his ijtihad methodology through his work, al-Tafsirat al-Ahmadiyya. The researcher tracks specific issues where Mulla Jiwan exercised ijtihad and applied the functional roles of mujtahids, such as Takhrij (derivation), Tarjih (preponderance), and others.

The researcher adopted an inductive approach by gathering scientific material from the primary text under study. Furthermore, an analytical and deductive approach was employed to examine and analyze the data, organizing it to reach systematic conclusions.

The research was divided into an introduction and two chapters, each with several subsections, and a conclusion containing the most prominent results, among which are:

1. that Mulla Jiwan performed the general functions of mujtahids, including the derivation of branches (furu') from principles (usul), weighing between competing opinions (tarjih), authenticating divergent views within the Hanafi school (tashih), distinguishing the core school doctrine from derived opinions, and issuing fatwas, without directly deducting rulings from the two revelations.
2. that Mulla Jiwan had reached the rank of Ijtihad within the Hanafi school, placing him among the later generation of Mujtahids. He holds the rank of Mufti within the school, as the majority of the jurisprudential issues he established strictly adhere to the authoritative positions (Mu'tamad) of the madhhab.