Maelezo kamili ya mapema zaidi kuhusu sifa za Mujtahid yanapatikana katika kitabu cha Abu' Husayn al-Basri (d. 436/1044), al-Mu'tamad fi Usul al-Fiqh. Muhtasari mkuu wa maelezo ya al-Basri ulikubaliwa baadaye, pamoja na mabadiliko madogo, na al-Shirazi (d. 467/1083), al-Ghazali (d. 505/1111) na al-Amidi (d. 632/1234). Hii haimaanishi kwamba mahitaji ya Ijtihad hayakupewa umakini na Ulama walioishi kabla ya al-Basri; hata hivyo, hawakuona ni lazima kuweka masharti ya Ijtihad kwa namna hii. Wanasheria wa madhehebu ya Hanafi, Fakhr al-Islam 'Ali b. Muhammad al-Bazdawi (d. 483 A.H.) na `Ubaydullah ibn Mas'ud Sadr al-Shar‟iah, wote walisema kwamba ili kufanya Ijtihad, mwanasheria anapaswa kuwa na elimu ya Qur'an pamoja na maana yake, kamusi yake na maana ya kisheria, pamoja na migawanyo yake mbalimbali; elimu ya Hadith, ikiwa ni pamoja na matini zake na wapokezi wake; na kanuni za hoja ya kulinganisha (Qiyas).38

The earliest complete account of the qualifications of a Mujtahid is given in Abu' Husayn al-Basri's (d. 436/1044) al-Mu'tamad fi Usul al-Fiqh. The broad outline of al-Basri's exposition was later accepted, with minor changes, by al-Shirazi (d. 467/1083), al-Ghazali (d. 505/1111) and al-Amidi (d. 632/1234). This does not mean that the requirements of Ijtihad received no attention from the Ulema who lived before al-Basri, however they did not see it necessary to lay down the conditions for Ijtihad in this manner.The Hanafi jurists, Fakhr al-Islam 'Ali b. Muhammad al-Bazdawi (d.483 A.H.) and `Ubaydullah ibn Mas'ud Sadr al-Shar‟iah both stated that to perform Ijtihad a jurist should have knowledge of the Qur‟an together with its meaning, dictionary and legal, and its various divisions, of the traditions (Hadith) including the texts and authorities thereof, and of the rules of analogical deduction (Qiyas).38