ijtihad

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noun

The process of Muslim jurists or scholars making a legal or scientific judgment by independent reasoning from the Qur'an and the Sunna; discretion.

OriginArabic اِجْتِهَاد ← ['ar اِجْتِهَاد →
UncommonScrabble 18
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Meanings

nounijtihad (countable and uncountable, plural ijtihads)

plural ijtihads

  1. countableuncountableIslamThe process of Muslim jurists or scholars making a legal or scientific judgment by independent reasoning from the Qur'an and the Sunna; discretion.

Origin

  1. ['arاِجْتِهَاد
  2. Arabicاِجْتِهَاد
  3. Englishijtihad

Borrowed from Arabic اِجْتِهَاد (ijtihād, “diligence”).

More words from Arabic, ['ar

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

ijtihad. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ijtihad

MLA

“ijtihad.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ijtihad. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ijtihad,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ijtihad.

Source: ijtihad on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.