Innovation and Creativity In Islam


INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY IN ISLAMPDFPrintE-mail
This article examines two fundamental concepts essential to the dynamic application of Islam: bid‘a (innovation) and
ijtihad (critical thinking for solutions to new problems). Both concepts are meant to preserve continuity with Islam’s
original sources while renewing the religion’s vitality as a dynamic faith. Correct understanding of bid‘a and ijtihad
is an essential element of Islamic literacy, the basic understanding of Islam that all members of the Muslim
community must have. Bid‘a serves as a regulatory mechanism for the elaboration of the religious law but is not
meant to be an obstructive force, impeding new ideas and silencing open discourse. Bid‘a has different shades
of meaning and is not always negative; it applies equally to innovations that are obligatory, recommended, or merely
neutral. Ijtihad, on the other hand, is the creative dimension of Islamic law. The obligation to perform it falls on each
Muslim community in the context of its particular time and place. Ijtihad is not solely an obligation of scholars; it also
is incumbent on the Muslim rank and file, who are required to think critically about which scholars to follow.
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