The third group of rules in the Qur'an are so profound, so well hidden that human power falls short of understanding and deriving them. They cannot be comprehended unless they are explained by Allahu ta'ala. And this fact has been shown and explained only to our Prophet (sall Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam). It has not been explained to anybody else. These rules also are derived from the Qur'an, yet since they have been explained by the Prophet (sall Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam), they are called Sunnat. Concerning the rules of the first and third types, nobody can disagree with the Prophet. All Muslims have to believe and follow them. But on the ahkam-i ijtihadiyya, every mujtahid [He who understands the hidden, symbolic meanings in the Qur'an.] has to follow the rule that he has derived. He cannot follow the rules of other mujtahids. A mujtahid cannot say that another mujtahid has gone wrong, or that he has dissented from the righteous way on account of his ijtihad. For each mujtahid, his own ijtihad is correct and right. Our Prophet used to command his Sahabis whom he sent to distant places to act according to the rules of the Qur'an on matters they would be confronted with, but if unable to find them in the Qur'an, to look them up in hadiths, and if unable to find them there, to act according to their own opinions and ijtihads. He used to forbid them from following others' opinions and ijtihads, even if they were more learned and greater than themselves. No mujtahid, none of the Ashab-i kiram (radi Allahu ta'ala anhum ajmain) has ever discounted as wrong another's ijtihads. They have not uttered such evil terms as 'sinner' or 'aberrant' to those who disagreed with them.
The second type of rules in the Qur'an cannot be understood clearly. They can be derived through ijtihad [Ability to understand the meaning of symbolic ayats in the Qur'an.] and istinbat [It means to extract the essence of something.]. In the ahkam-i ijtihadiyya (rules of the second type that can be understood through ijtihad), any one of the Ashab-i kiram might disagree with the Prophet. Yet these rules could not have been defective or doubtful during the time of our Prophet because if a wrong ijtihad was formulated, Hadrat Jabrail would descend and the wrong ijtihad would immediately be corrected by Allahu ta'ala. In this way, right and wrong were immediately differentiated from each other on the spot. However, rules that were derived after our Prophet (sall Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) honored the next world were not so, and the correct and incorrect ijtihads remained mixed. It is for this reason that it is necessary both to do and to believe in the rules that were derived during the time of wahy [Allah's commands that come to prophets directly or through an angel. The entire Qur'an is wahy that has come through the angel Jabrail.]. It is necessary to do the rules that were derived after our Prophet also. Yet it does not spoil one's iman to doubt about an ijtihad on which there has been no ijma [Unanimity of the Ashab al-kiram on a religious matter that has not been explained clearly in the Qur'an or hadiths.].
Errors in ijtihad; Greatness of Imam-i Azam All the rules of Islam are derived from the Qur'an. The Qur'an incorporates within itself all the rules contained in the books sent to all Prophets (salawatullahi 'alaihim) and even more. Those with blind eyes, little knowledge and short brains cannot see this fact. These rules in the Qur'an are of three types. Men of reason and knowledge can easily understand the first type of rules through a verse, through a signal, through denotation, through inclusion, through necessitation and through the conclusion of the Nass. That is, every ayat has various meanings and edicts with respect to its sentence, signal, denotation, inclusion, necessitation and conclusion [To understand this point more clearly an example must be given: An Ayat of the Qur'an declares, "Do not say, 'Ugh!' to your parents!" What this Ayat points out through these words is: 1- The verse: Do not use this word "ugh!" towards your parents. 2- Signal: Do not use the words hat will hurt your parents' hearts. This is what this ayat points out through these words. 3- Denotation: Do not do anything that may hurt your parents' hearts. 4- Inclusion: Do not beat or kill your parents. 5- Necessitation: Do favors for your parents. 6- Conclusion: Offending your parents causes disasters; pleasing parents causes happiness. Six types of meanings, as exemplified above, have been derived from each ayat that communicates rules.]. (Nass) means ayats and hadiths with clear and obvious meanings.
