Addressing Madhhab Misconceptions

A couple of days ago, someone with the profile name Hmmm posted some very worthwhile comments on the Living Tradition weblog that address some common misconceptions about fiqh and the madhhabs:

“...the rulings of the traditional schools are not static. No school believes that it's fiqh is eternal and immutable - it cannot be denied that an understanding of the Shariah is subject to change and adaptation in the light of changing events - hence ijtihad in the mu'amalat (civil matters) and within the madhabs is still open. This also means that the Shafi school is not the school that follows all of the rulings laid down by Imam Shafi straight out in, say, his Umm - it refers to the group of scholars who took his framework of jurisprudence and adopted it to try and discern the Shariah. Indeed, later mujtahids such as Imam Nawawi are relied upon for major issues in that particular school. To follow the rulings of individuals from 1400 years ago with no flexibility would be silly.”

The misconceptions addressed above are often mentioned with a plea to "reopen the gates of ijtihad", seemingly implying that no Muslim scholar has been allowed to make ijtihad since about the third Islamic century—which is utterly ridiculous. I look forward to seeing more thoughtful comments from Hmmm, whoever he or she is...