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23 / 06 / 2026
Interpretation of Al-Laknawi's Statement on the Continuation of Ijtihad
Imam Al-Laknawi says: "The essence is that whoever claims that the rank of independent ijtihad has been severed with the last of the imams, in a way that cannot return, has erred and made a mistake; for ijtihad is a mercy from Allah, and the mercy of Allah is not limited to a specific time or to specific people." Does this statement imply the possibility of a new absolute mujtahid emerging in our time or in the end of times, or does it suggest that Al-Laknawi, may Allah have mercy on him, belongs to the school of the hadith scholars of jurists? I hope you can clarify this statement.
Answer
I say, and with God's success: The statement of Al-Laknawi speaks about the possibility of its existence in reason, and this is correct, but it is usually impossible to find it because for a thousand years we have not seen a complete absolute jurist; rather, we have seen interpretations in the Book and the Sunnah from some scholars, albeit weak, as in the school of the hadith scholars among the Hanafis, including Al-Laknawi. And God knows best.
