Hawzah News Agency- Ayatollah Ebrahimifar, who represents Tehran in the Assembly of Experts, made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the new academic year at Al-Mustafa International University's Gorgan branch, praising the institution's officials, professors and students.
He described Al-Mustafa International University as a distinguished gathering of followers of Islam and the Quran, and a cultural stronghold serving the Muslim world in the fields of science and outreach.
Speaking on the theme "The Relationship Between Monotheism and Ijtihad (independent juristic reasoning)," Ebrahimifar said the topic reflects the dynamism and durability of ijtihad, which he described as a dynamic, adaptable and enduring method of religious inference.
He noted that while humans need religious rulings to regulate their practical conduct, they must also strengthen their belief in monotheism, adding that the two are often wrongly assumed to be in conflict.
The Assembly of Experts member said belief in monotheism is beyond dispute among Islamic schools, but the key question is how to reconcile ijtihad with God's legislative lordship.
He stressed that God's lordship extends over both the domains of creation and legislation, and that divine commands in both realms are rooted in real interests and harms, not arbitrary rulings.
Turning to the role of reason in ijtihad, Ebrahimifar said that when reason is used as a source of inference, it must be understood as a tool for discovering divine rulings — not as an independent lawmaker.
"Ijtihad does not mean legislating new rulings," he said. "It is a rational effort to discover and infer a ruling that already exists. What is independently desired is the ruling of God."
He explained that the Quran and the Sunnah are authoritative precisely because they reveal divine rulings, and that proving the Quran's reliability requires accepting its immunity from distortion, while the Sunnah's authority rests on the Prophet's infallibility.
Warning against "unbridled reliance on reason," Ebrahimifar said placing reason independently against divine commands risks drifting away from God's legislative lordship.
He cited the story of Satan's refusal to prostrate before Adam, saying Satan's error was not merely moral arrogance but a rejection of God's legislative authority in favor of his own judgment.
The Assembly of Experts member also pointed to shared ground between Islamic schools on the objectives of Sharia, noting that some Shia jurists have defined ijtihad as attaining the "taste" of the infallible Imams — a concept comparable to Sunni discussions of Maqasid al-Sharia.
He called for joint academic sessions among scholars of different Islamic schools, aimed at rapprochement and deeper mutual understanding.
On Islamic unity, Ebrahimifar said that while it is sometimes framed as a strategic necessity, it is in fact far deeper, rooted in shared principles and foundations.
"We have one God, one Prophet, one Book and one Qibla, and Muslims share abundant moral and doctrinal principles," he said.
He added that jurisprudential and methodological differences among Islamic schools should be treated as scholarly disagreements, similar to those that exist within each school, and that such differences can drive scientific growth if pursued through dialogue and rapprochement.
Ebrahimifar concluded by congratulating students and professors on the new academic year, wishing them success in their scientific and spiritual pursuits and expressing hope that Al-Mustafa International University would remain a source of blessing for the Muslim world.
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