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The Importance of Independent Rationalism in Islamic Law
A qualified jurist is one who can supply an evidential argument in arabic for each decision. The shafis dealt with the problem by either restating or improving on their master's own legal reasoning to get around the black box problem. Independent reflection was needed to deal with new questions such as the permissibility of using coffee and tobacco, much discussed by jurists of the ottoman empire. It has been argued that ictihad was applied in exceptional cases by exceptional figures but most jurists since middle ages restricted themselves to following tradition.