[Contemporary Ijtihad Approach in Current Issues in Malaysia] Pendekatan Ijtihad Kontemporari Dalam Isu Semasa di Malaysia

Advancement in science and technology today has evoked many issues that need legal solution immediately. Determination of the law towards this issue requires a comprehensive ijtihad (opinion) approach that is comprehensive, according to the present context to ensure the benefit of humankind besides meeting urgent needs. This article intends to analyse best ijtihad approach that can be applied in analyzing a few current issues. This is to prove that contemporary ijtihad needs to be done in determining the current Islamic laws. Among the issues discussed is on the of alcohol level in food, agricultural sources which is subjected to zakat (tithe), the medical method of stem cell xenotransplantation and tawarruq (reverse Murabahah) in cash financing. This bibliography-form of study used qualitative approach in scrutinizing the classical and contemporary views of the ulama (Islamic scholars) to formulate the importance of developing contemporary ijtihad in determining the current Islamic laws. Results of the study discovers that most of the current issues which arises today, have no direct legal clarification whether in the quotation of the Qur'an and the Sunnah and are not addressed in past book of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). Based on this statement, the contemporary ijtihad approach becomes a key requirement in providing the legal answers for the current issues that arise especially in the reality context of Malaysia.   Keywords; Ijtihad; new form of ijtihad; contemporary fiqh; maslahah   Kemajuan sains dan teknologi pada hari ini telah menimbulkan banyak isu yang berhajat kepada penyelesaian hukum dengan segera. Penentuan hukum terhadap isu ini memerlukan pendekatan ijtihad yang komprehensif sesuai dengan konteks semasa bagi menjamin kemaslahatan manusia di samping memenuhi keperluan yang mendesak. Artikel ini bertujuan menganalisis pendekatan ijtihad terbaik yang dapat diaplikasikan dalam menganalisis beberapa isu-isu semasa. Ini bagi membuktikan bahawa ijtihad kontemporari perlu dilakukan dalam penentuan hukum Islam semasa. Antara isu yang dibincangkan adalah kadar alkohol dalam makanan, sumber-sumber pertanian yang perlu dizakatkan, kaedah perubatan stem cell xenotransplantation dan tawarruq dalam pembiayaan tunai. Kajian berbentuk kepustakaan ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dalam meneliti pandangan-pandangan ulama klasik dan kontemporari bagi merumuskan kepentingan membangunkan ijtihad kontemporari dalam penentuan hukum Islam semasa. Hasil kajian mendapati kebanyakan isu semasa yang timbul masa kini, tiada penjelasan hukum secara langsung sama ada di dalam nas al-Qur’an dan al-Sunnah serta tidak dibincangkan dalam kitab fiqh silam. Bertitik tolak daripada kenyataan ini, pendekatan ijtihad kontemporari menjadi satu keperluan penting dalam memberikan jawapan hukum terhadap isu-isu semasa yang timbul terutamanya dalam konteks realiti Malaysia.   Kata kunci: Ijtihad, ijtihad baru, fiqh semasa, al-maslahah