Fresh Ijtihad: Reconstructing Islamic Legal Reasoning through Amin Abdullah's Integration-Interconnection Paradigm

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30983/itr.v4i1.11332

Keywords:

Fresh Ijtihad, Amin Abdullah, Integration-Interconnection, Islamic Epistemology, Islamic Legal Reasoning

Abstract

The complexity of contemporary issues calls for an ijtihad that integrates revelation, reason, empirical knowledge, and ethical considerations without compromising the normative authority of Islamic sources. This article examines Amin Abdullah’s integration-interconnection paradigm as an epistemological framework for reconstructing contemporary ijtihad and, more specifically, asks how the paradigm can be translated into an operational model of Islamic legal reasoning. Employing qualitative library research with a philosophical-epistemological approach, the study critically analyzes Amin Abdullah’s major works alongside relevant literature on Islamic epistemology, ijtihad, and contemporary Islamic legal thought. The novelty of the study lies in developing an operational interpretation of the integration-interconnection paradigm beyond its general call for interdisciplinary engagement. The analysis demonstrates that the spider-web model reconceptualizes ijtihad as an interconnected epistemological process involving revealed texts, classical Islamic sciences, modern sciences, social sciences, humanities, and contemporary human experience. This process operates through a dialogical interaction among bayānī, burhānī, and ʿirfānī modes of reasoning: textual-normative validation, rational-empirical inquiry, and ethical-spiritual reflection. The study concludes that such an epistemological configuration enables ijtihad to produce legal-ethical responses that remain grounded in revelation while being empirically informed, maqāṣid-oriented, contextually responsive, and capable of addressing complex contemporary challenges.

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Published

2026-06-30

How to Cite

Syarofuzzaman, A. F. (2026). Fresh Ijtihad: Reconstructing Islamic Legal Reasoning through Amin Abdullah’s Integration-Interconnection Paradigm. Islamic Thought Review, 4(1), 49–61. https://doi.org/10.30983/itr.v4i1.11332

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Vol. 4 No. 1 (2026): June 2026

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