Like Mr.niaz have been saying in other threads about ijtehad, I gotta concur with him.
The Quran has given us fundamentals but we must interpret these fundamentals wisely in accordance with the spirit of the time in which we live.
These backward self-proclaimed mullahs are the reason we lag in science and modern world.
Suppose a man asks a Muslim Jurist, “can a lady drive a car or fly an airplane”?
If the Jurist is retrogressive he will say: No- because in the time of prophet of Islam ladies did not drive a car or fly an airplane.
But if the jurist is modern and progressive he will respond: Yes – a lady can do both of these because at the time of prophet these means of transportation were not invented.
It is narrated that when the telephone was invented the great jurist of Saudi Arabia said: “we should not use it because it is the voice of Satan.”
Here one thing must be mentioned that “Ijtehad” or rational enquiry is not permissible in the clear injunctions. It is only permissible in their relative interpretation. For instance, the five daily prayer times are obligatory in Islam. This means that even all the Muslim clerics and then entire Umma decided through consensus to say prayers only twice a day, this would be regarded as blasphemy.
However, itejihad could be used to discuss the method of offering these prayers in differing situations as well as the method of performing other rituals.
This is the reason why the Quran lays much stress on the need for rational analysis, which is quiet opposite of that taught by these mullahs. Actually the children are made into zombies that repeat verses of Quran 24/7 without knowing the greatness behind it.
