This research paper examines the role of group ijtihad in creating a solid and stable social order. The complexities presented by our modern world and the development of myriad unprecedented issues and challenges to which previous generations of scholars had not been exposed, have created a pressing need for fresh and renewed ijtihad endeavors in proportion to the ever-changing reality experienced by individuals and societies. To achieve its purpose, the paper traces the etymology and the lexical and technical meanings of the word ‘ijtihad’ and offers an overview of the different definitions of ijtihad, its Quranic and Sunnah usage, and its historical implementation. It furthermore offers a definition of group ijtihad, its scope of operation, and the concept of unprecedented issues.

The duty of scholars is to provide Shari’ah-based solutions to contemporary problems, rendering it incumbent upon Muslim scholars to free themselves from the legal determinations of past generations and produce new thinking. With this in view, group ijtihad has become necessary in order to regulate ijtihad in its general sense and ensure its endurance as one of the sources of Islamic legislation and remedy the chaos and errors generated by individual ijtihad that have resulted in the prevalence of taqlid, fanaticism, and the stagnation of ijtihad. The importance of group ijtihad is further reflected in it being an embodiment of the concept of shura and allows for a more comprehensive grasp of the interrelationships and subtleties of an issue. The paper investigates the role of group ijtihad in creating balance and societal stability by accommodating khilaf, uniting ideas and religious legislation within the universal community of Muslims, enriching the discipline of fiqh, stimulating scholarship in fiqh, and encouraging mujtahids to address current problems. It also highlights one of the most important fruits of group ijtihad, its institutionalization into various international bodies of fiqh, and touches upon the importance of group ijtihad in formulating fatwas that are of particular concern to Muslims in Muslim minority countries.