We are living in a fascinating world whose charm is unending. We are lucky to be its inhabitants as it offers countless pleasures. Our ancestors could not have imagined that one day we will be gladdening ourselves from electronic gadgets, booting out boeings and air-buses, hanging down on manuscripts for knowledge and so on and so forth. 

Civilizations across the world keep evolving. None of the surviving society has remained static so far, nor it can afford to remain so. Those whose resisted 'change' are now nowhere. Even history has wiped them out from its pages and we should accept this reality in toto.

No one can deny the fact it was Muslims' readiness to revere perpetual nature of 'change' that they enjoyed their 'Golden Era' for some time. They were cordial, accommodative, tolerant and ready to mould their socities as per requirements of 'change'. They didn't resist the eternal process of 'change', rather they devised strategies to accept 'change' as reality at the same time holding their faith tightly.  And unluckily when they didn't respond timely to the 'change' or at least  miscalculated the speed of 'change', they were among the losers and they also paid for it. Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan. 

Muslims' readniess to accept  change as reality is also envisaged in their religion. We term this rediness as 'Ijtehad'. No fault lies in our religion; it lies in our slackness. 

Ijtehad is usually taken as a theological term that refers to the process of deriving laws of Islamic Shariah from its supreme sources i.e., Holy Quran and Sunnah. But if you look deeper into the spirit of Islamic Shariah, ijtehad does not appear as such limiting ; it invariably comes out as a concept that invites collective wisdom of each and every Muslim society around the globe to be part of a 'mega collective wisdom' that can become instrumental in handling the problems that perpetual process of 'change' poses or has been posing for centuries. 

Early Muslim theologists rightfully  believed that ijtehad could perpetuate the efficacy of Islamic jurisprudence in face of ever-changing socio-religious or politico-economic conditions of the globe. These wise men, through their God-gifted wisdom, had predicted that 'change' is perpetual and Islamic jurisprudence can only match up this if ijtehad is made a regular phenomenon of Muslim socities. Muslims societies have always adorned true mujtahidins. History is a clearcut testimony of this fact.

However, during later medieval period and even till the time large swathes  of Muslims' land were colonized by the Euorepean powers, Muslims ignored the true spirit of ijtehad by making it a purely religious subject used for dilerberating upon purely ideological matters which have very less to do with the practical social lives of common Muslims. 

Irrespective of their glory or downfall,  Muslim societies from within have always remained vibrant. Muslims  are blessed in the sense that they accept wisdom as their 'lost treasure'. As narrated by Abu Hurairah (RA), the Holy Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "The wise statement is the lost property of the believer, so wherever he finds it, then he is more worthy of it." 

Arab Republic of Egypt through its Ministry of Awqaf is currently hosting a general conference on "Ijtehad as the Necessity of the Modern Era" under the auspices of His Excellency President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the Egyptian President. This is an event which can be safely termed as the most sincere effort from a Nation-state to redefine the word 'ijtehad'.

Egypt, since the period of auspices of Fatimid dynasty, holds great significance in history. Even afterwars, it has immensely contributed to humanity’s intellectual and cultural evolution. Courtesy to University of Al'Azhar (which was opened in Cairo for prayers in 972) and vibrant leadership of this land,  Egypt has been continously patronizing intellectual growth of Muslim ummah. 

What can be more captivating than the fact that the conference even invites the focus of Muslim socities vis-a-vis protection of environment in the light of Quran and Sunnah through the institution of ijtehad. The conference has timely and aptly invited collective wisdom of Muslims across the globe on each and every contemporary subject: virtual currencies, corneal transplantation, machine slaughtering of animals, climate change, afforestation, media landscapes, etc. It is a big opening. Egypt has become harbinger. Hats off for  President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his Minister for Awqaf Professor Mohamed Mukhtar Jumah. 

Praise and applause is also  due to Islamic Broadcasting Union ( IBU), which is a subsidiary platform of OIC, for inviting its members to participate in this two-day conference in Egypt. The way elders of IBU, especially Mr. Ahmed Al Murtda has been facilitating the guests from various Muslim countries so that they are able to reap the benefits of this conference is extremely praiseworthy. Pakistan as a founding member of OIC has always believed in playing a proactive role in this supreme Muslim organization. 

Change is perpetual so is the religion of Islam. Muslim ummah is once again on the path of searching out its lost treasure, the wisdom. Again congratulations to Arab Republic of Egypt.