Year 9 - Religious education
Interpreting Shariah using ijtihad
Religious law: What is the social context and relevance today?
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit pupils examine how religions have created rules to live by. They will investigate how the ethics of Jesus reframed the Jewish law of the time and how Muslims may use the concept of ijtjihad to make moral decisions.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to explain the meaning of ijtihad and how it might be interpreted and applied by Muslims today.
Key Notes
- Muslim thinking has developed since Prophet Muhammad. A challenge has been to respond to ideas not in Qur'an or Hadith.
- The term 'ijtihad' comes from the word jihad, which means struggle, effort or fight.
- Ijtihad is the method of using the principles of the Qur'an and Hadith to identify the best action.
- Using ijtihad may result in different interpretations which lead to diversity of thought amongst different Muslims.
Vocabulary To Learn
- Hadith: the recorded words of the Prophet Muhammad
- ijtihad: the human effort and reasoning used to work out the Shariah
- interpretation: the action of explaining the meaning of something
- Shariah: a set of moral and religious laws that guide Muslims
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- All Muslims will come to the same conclusion about a moral or social issue.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Muslim thinking has developed since Prophet Muhammad. A challenge has been to respond to ideas not in Qur'an or Hadith. The term 'ijtihad' comes from the word jihad, which means struggle, effort or fight.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'Hadith'
the recorded words of the Prophet Muhammad.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: All Muslims will come to the same conclusion about a moral or social issue. Correction: Different scholars will interpret sources differently meaning there is a diversity of opinion about issues such as the Eid moon sighting, and wearing of trousers and beards.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 9 Religious education guide library.