The intended meaning of His Eminence Mansoor Mansoor by ijtihad is seeking knowledge of religion, and there is no doubt that it is obligatory for every Muslim, and it does not come under the heading of medicine, engineering, and other worldly fields so that people would have a choice in it, but rather it comes under the heading of prayer, fasting, and other religious deeds that are obligatory upon them, regardless of their aspirations and talents; because Allah has commanded it as He has commanded them, where He has said: ﴿وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ﴾[1]; “Do not follow what you have no knowledge of,” and said: ﴿نَبِّئُونِي بِعِلْمٍ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ﴾[2]; “Inform me with knowledge if you are truthful,” and said: ﴿إِنْ عِنْدَكُمْ مِنْ سُلْطَانٍ بِهَذَا ۚ أَتَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ﴾[3]; “You have no authority for this. Do you say against Allah what you do not know?!” and said: ﴿قُلْ هَلْ عِنْدَكُمْ مِنْ عِلْمٍ فَتُخْرِجُوهُ لَنَا ۖ إِنْ تَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ وَإِنْ أَنْتُمْ إِلَّا تَخْرُصُونَ﴾[4]; “Say: ‘Do you have any knowledge that you can produce for us?! You follow nothing but conjecture and do nothing but guess,’” and said: ﴿وَمَا لَهُمْ بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ ۖ إِنْ يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ ۖ وَإِنَّ الظَّنَّ لَا يُغْنِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ شَيْئًا﴾[5]; “They have no knowledge about it. They follow nothing but conjecture, while conjecture is not sufficient for (proving) the truth.” It is clear that the human being has not been created to do what he likes and leave what he does not like, but rather he has been created to do what Allah likes and leave what Allah does not like; because he is a servant of Allah, not a servant of himself, and he is not allowed to take his desires as his god; as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿أَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ﴾[6]; “Have you seen one who takes his desires as his god?!” and said: ﴿وَمَنْ أَضَلُّ مِمَّنِ اتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ بِغَيْرِ هُدًى مِنَ اللَّهِ﴾[7]; “And who is more astray than one who follows his desires without any guidance from Allah?!” and said: ﴿وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ﴾[8]; “And you do not will unless Allah, the Lord of the worlds, wills,” and said: ﴿وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ﴾[9]; “And I did not create the jinn and humankind except that they worship Me,” and said: ﴿وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْرًا أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ ۗ وَمَنْ يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا مُبِينًا﴾[10]; “And it is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter, to have a choice regarding the matter, and whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has gone far astray”; especially considering that he may like something that is evil for him and not like something that is good for him; as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿فَعَسَى أَنْ تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا وَيَجْعَلَ اللَّهُ فِيهِ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا﴾[11]; “Perhaps you hate something and Allah has placed much good in it,” and said: ﴿وَعَسَى أَنْ تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَى أَنْ تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ﴾[12]; “And perhaps you hate a thing, while it is good for you, and perhaps you like a thing, while it is evil for you. And Allah knows, and you do not know.”

Based on this, it is obligatory for every Muslim to seek knowledge of the principles and branches of religion, even if he dislikes it, and not act on conjecture about anything of its beliefs and deeds, even if it conforms to his desires; because Allah is not satisfied with him without it, and it is clear that imitating fallible individuals leads to conjecture rather than knowledge, as they may go wrong in their fatwa. Therefore, one of two options must be pursued: either imitating an infallible individual, considering his existence in every time, or referring directly to the Quran and the established Sunnah through mutawatir reports. Undoubtedly, the first option is easier, and it is what Allah has decreed for people; as He has said: ﴿وَمِمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا أُمَّةٌ يَهْدُونَ بِالْحَقِّ وَبِهِ يَعْدِلُونَ﴾[13]; “And among those We have created there are some who guide with the truth and establish justice with it,” and said: ﴿وَلِكُلِّ قَوْمٍ هَادٍ﴾[14]; “And there is a guide for every nation,” but they were forced to resort to the second one due to their bad deeds; because they abandoned following the guide whom Allah appointed for them, who is Imam Mahdi , ﴿وَاتَّبَعُوا أَمْرَ كُلِّ جَبَّارٍ عَنِيدٍ﴾[15]; “and followed the command of every rebellious tyrant,” thus forcing him to hide from them so that they would not kill him as they killed the guides before him. There is no doubt that if they repent from that and reform, their guide will show himself to them and teach them religion in ease and well-being, but if they do not do so, they must refer directly to the Quran and the established Sunnah, and if there is hardship in it for them, it is due to what their hands have sent forth, ﴿وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ لَيْسَ بِظَلَّامٍ لِلْعَبِيدِ﴾[16]; “and undoubtedly, Allah is not unjust to (His) servants.” Today, Allah has made it easier for people by His grace and mercy; He has made many books on interpretation and hadith available to people and made it easy for them to print and distribute them. He has also provided them with new tools for search and research, allowing them to quickly access various views and their evidence. Nonetheless, the reality is that they have become lazy, and nothing concerns them except the life of the world. Therefore, they make excuses and cling to any pretext to justify imitating fallible individuals; like those who ﴿يُخَادِعُونَ اللَّهَ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَمَا يَخْدَعُونَ إِلَّا أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ﴾[17]; “seek to deceive Allah and those who have faith, while they deceive no one but themselves, and they do not realize.”