Ijtihad (ئؾطٙحد) imetokana na mzizi wa neno Jahada. Kwa maana ya lugha, linamaanisha kujitahidi au kujikaza katika shughuli yoyote, jambo ambalo huhusisha kiasi fulani cha taabu. Wanazuoni wakubwa wa Usul kama Abu al-Husayn Ali, anayejulikana pia kama Al-Amidi (d. 631 AH), na Mohammad bin Ali Al-Shawkani (d. 1255 AH) walilifafanua kuwa, „kutumia juhudi zote zinazofanywa na mwanasheria ili kupata hukumu za Shari'ah kutoka katika dalili zake za kina zilizomo katika vyanzo, kwa kiwango fulani cha uhakika.‟27

Ijtihad (ئؾطٙحد ) is derived from the root word Jahada. Linguistically, it means striving or self-exertion in any activity, which entails a measure of hardship. The great scholars of Usul such as Abu al-Husayn Ali otherwise known as Al-Amidi (d. 631 AH) and Mohammad bin Ali Al-Shawkani (d. 1255 AH) defined it as, „the total expenditure of effort made by a jurist in order to infer, with a degree of probability, the rules of Shariah from their detailed evidence in the sources.‟27

Wengine huongeza, „kwa namna ambayo Mujtahid anahisi hawezi tena kufanya juhudi zaidi‟ kwenye ufafanuzi huu. Kwa msingi wake, kama istilahi ya kisheria, Ijtihad maana yake ni kutumia juhudi zote za mtu katika kujifunza tatizo kwa kina na kutafuta suluhisho lake kutoka katika vyanzo vya Shari‟ah.