CONCLUSIONS

Collective ijtihad has been practised widely in the contemporary Islamic world. From the time of the Prophet until the end of the nineteenth century, ijtihad was performed individually.

Having performed ijtihad collectively, Muslims scholars have provided the solution for the debate of ‘the closing of the door of ijtihad’ where the requirements to be Mujtahid can be met not at an individual level, but as a group of Muslim scholars. This chapter has provided some examples from the Indonesia case studies of how Muslim scholars have responded to modern health issues. This is to illustrate that collective ijtihad have been used as instruments to cope with modern developments. Inviting ‘secular’ scholars to join the discussion also indicates a collective attempt to answer complicated problems from many different perspectives.

As a final note, one may observe from the case studies that fatwas in Indonesia can be revised, particularly where previous rulings have proven no longer suitable to the situation. It can be stated safely that the institution of collective ijtihad is a viable tool through which a society can adjust itself to internal and external social, political and economic change.

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