عَنْ عمْرو بْنِ الْعَاص رضي اللّه عنْهُ أنَّهُ سَمِع رسُولَ اللّه صَلّى اللّهُ عَلَيْهِ وسَلَّم يَقُولُ: «إذَا حَكَمَ الْحَاكِمُ، فَاجْتَهَدَ، ثُمَّ أصاب، فَلَهُ أجْرانِ وإنْ حَكَم وَاجْتَهَدَ، فَأَخْطَأَ، فَلَهُ أجْرٌ» متفقٌ عَلَيْهِ.
Amr ibn al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "When a judge gives a ruling, exercising his judgment (ijtihad), and is correct, he has two rewards; and if he gives a ruling, exercising his judgment, and errs, he has one reward." Agreed upon (al-Bukhari and Muslim).
الشرح · explanation
حكم: قضى في حكم. فاجتهد: بذل جهده لفهم الحكم.
"Gives a ruling": he adjudicates in a matter. "Exercising his judgment (ijtihad)": he exerts his utmost effort to understand the ruling.
الدروس · lessons
جواز الاجتهاد للمجتهد إذا كان من أهل الاجتهاد في الدين وكان الحكم مما يجوز فيه الاجتهاد، وأنّه مثاب على اجتهاده مطلقًا. إن أصاب المجتهد كان له أجران أجر الاجتهاد وأجر لصوابه، وإن أخطأ كان له أجر اجتهاده، وخطؤه أو صوابه مقرران عند اللّه تعالى.
The permissibility of ijtihad for the qualified jurist (mujtahid) when he is among the people of ijtihad in religion and the matter is one in which ijtihad is permissible, and that he is rewarded for his ijtihad absolutely. If the mujtahid is correct, he has two rewards: the reward of ijtihad and the reward of his correctness; and if he errs, he has the reward of his ijtihad, and his error or his correctness is decreed with Allah the Exalted.