المعنى الاصطلاحي :

Scholars who fulfill the requirements of deducing legal rulings from their proofs.

الشرح المختصر :

"Ahl al-ijtihād" (people competent for independent reasoning) are the people who have understanding of the religion and are able to deduce legal rulings pertaining to actions from their sources. Excluded from this definition are those who have knowledge of legal rulings but are unable to extract them from evidence. They cannot be called mujtahids. Some of the conditions of "ijtihād" are general, such as sanity, being of age, being Muslim, and uprightness, and some are specific, such as ability of speculation; knowing the methods of "ijtihād"; and the rules and methods of extrapolation, such as knowing the Qur’an, the Sunnah, Arabic, the fundamentals of jurisprudence, etc. "Ahl al-ijtihād" can be divided into four categories: 1. The absolute mujtahid: He is the scholar who practices independent reasoning in extracting religious rulings from legal proofs and deducing scientific rulings and principles, such as Imam Ash-Shāfi‘i and the like. 2. The mujtahid who is restricted to the school of a certain Imam: He conducts independent reasoning in knowing the fatwas, sayings, and principles of that Imam without being a blind follower of him in either rulings or proofs. 3. The mujtahid who is confined to the school of a certain Imam without transcending the sayings and fatwas of this Imam or opposing him. 4. The mujtahid who practices "ijtihād" on the school of a certain Imam, memorizes his fatwas, and acknowledges his being a mere imitator of that Imam in all aspects.