Developing Ijtihad Skills for Undergraduate Students Through Problem-based Learning in Fiqh Subjects: Present Practices and The Way Forward

Ijtihad, carried out by experts known as mujtahid, is an essential process for deriving Shariah law or Islamic legal rulings from its primary sources. The exercise of ijtihad is essential as many issues require Shariah based solutions due to the changing circumstances and rapid development of science and technology. Hence, producing a mujtahid who can provide Islamic legal solutions to the arising challenging issues is a critical task that falls under the purview of the Islamic Religious Education (IRE) System. Fundamental knowledge requirements of a mujtahid such as the principles of Islamic jurisprudence known as Usul al Fiqh, profound Arabic language proficiency and comprehensive understanding of the Quran and Hadith as well as objectives of shariah (Maqasid al-Shariah) have been incorporated into the curricula of IRE in higher education institutions, particularly in the specialisation programme of Fiqh and Usul. Nevertheless, it is argued that developing ijtihad skills in students requires more than just understanding the concepts and theories underlying that knowledge. Therefore, this paper aims to discuss Problem-Based Learning (PBL) as an approach to developing Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) among students. Furthermore, it endeavours to delineate the elements of HOTS in ijtihad and analyse how PBL is applied in the pedagogy of fiqh subjects at the tertiary level to cultivate ijtihad skills among students. Fiqh and Usul programmes at Universiti Malaya are chosen as a case study. This study employs a qualitative research methodology in which the data was derived from course files of the programme. The data were then analysed using content, thematic, and descriptive analysis methods. Prior research underscores PBL’s efficacy in promoting critical and higher-order thinking skills, rendering it a competent module to prepare students with the ability to provide solutions to the current issues in society based on ijtihad principles. The findings reveal the utilisation of PBL across various fiqh subjects within the studied programme. However, the authors maintain that the application must be improved and expanded in the future. Thus, this paper lays the groundwork for integrating ijtihad skills through PBL to improve IRE in fiqh specialisation at the tertiary education level.