Ijtihad is an Islamic legal term that means "independent reasoning" or "the utmost effort an individual can put forth in an activity by using both the Quran and Hadith as resources to find a solution to a religious problem.
The term Ijtihad is not a Quranic term. It has originated from a conversation that was reported in Hadith. The Prophet (pbuh) and one of his companions Mu‘adz Ibn Jabal, was being sent to govern the territory of Yemen:
The Prophet asked: ‘How will you judge the cases that come to you?’ He replied: ‘I will judge according to the Book of Allah’. ‘But if you do not get anything there, what will you do?’, the Prophet asked. He said: ‘I will refer to the Sunnah of the Prophet’. ‘But if you do not get it even there, what will you do?’, the Prophet asked again. He replied: ‘I will exercise my judgement.’
Hearing this the Prophet patted Mu‘adh on the shoulder and said: ‘Praise be to Allah who has guided the Messenger of His Messenger to what pleases His Messenger’. (Nisa’i: No. 1327)
The Arabic for the words : ‘I will exercise my judgement’ are 'ajtahidu rai' from which the term Ijtihad is derived. In other words, the area of Ijtihad is the area in which Islam (Quran and Hadith Mutawatir) is silent and one must use their own common sense, intellect and experience to arrive at an opinion that should be in conformity with the spirit of Islam.
For example, matters like test-tube babies, organ donation and cloning are some of the recent developments in science and one needs to know whether they are permitted by religion or not. It is in such matters that need for Ijtihad arises.
Mazhab or 'School of Thought' follow an equation of hierarchy of authority by using various Ijtihad tools like Ijma, Qiyas, Maslahah etc, to formulate a hukum or a fatwa on a religious problem.
This is the equation uses by a Mazhab to ijtihad in order to reach a conclusion on a Hukum(haram, mustahab, mubah, makruh or haram). The hierarchy of authority of ijtihad tools for:
1) MAZHAB HANAFI = Quran --> Sunnah Mutawatir --> Istihsan
--> Qiyas --> Ijma' --> Sunnah Ahad --> Ra'i of Sahabi --> Urf --> Istishab.
2) MAZHAB MALIKI = Quran --> Sunnah Mutawatir --> Amal of Medina/Ijma' --> Maslahah --> Qiyas --> Sunnah Ahad --> Ra'i of Sahabi --> Sadd al-Dhara'i --> Urf --> Istishab.
3) MAZHAB SHAFI’I = Quran --> Sunnah Mutawatir --> Ijma' of Sahabi --> Sunnah Ahad --> Ra’i of Sahabi --> Istishab --> Qiyas
4) MAZHAB HANBALI = Quran --> Sunnah Mutawatir --> Sunnah Ahad --> Ra’i of Sahabi --> Ijma' --> Qiyas --> Maslahah --> Istihsan --> Sadd al-Dhara'i --> Istishab.
As we can see here, all the mazhab made the Quran and Sunnah Mutawatir as the first choice of reference when they want to reach a hukum/fatwa. This is what makes all mazhab as an Islamic school of thought.
This is what made them Muslim. If there is a mazhab that don't prioritized the Quran and Sunnah Mutawatir, they are out of Islam.
If you can understand this methodology and how a mujtahid reaches a hukum/fatwa, you would know why khilaf (difference of opinions) happens and it often start after the reference from Quran and Sunnah Mutawatir.
For example, the case of Tawasul, Talkin, Qunut etc are matters that the Quran and Sunnah Mutawatir are silence, thus the ulama uses ijtihad tools to reach their conclusion.
The Hanafi School would use istihsan, the Maliki would use Amal of Medina, the Shafii would use Ijma, the Hanbali would use Hadith Ahad to solve a same matter...therefore, surely each and every other mazhab would reached a different conclusion due to the different tools they uses to ijtihad.
But as long as their first reference is Quran and Sunnah Mutawatir, they're save...they are still within the boundary of Islam.
Wallahu'alam
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