The Proof of Ijtihad اِجتِھاد and Qiyas قیاس

Finally, let us now refer to the statement: فَإِن تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُ‌دُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّـهِ وَالرَّ‌سُولِ in verse 59 (Then, if you quarrel about something, revert it back to Allah and the Messenger.)

This 'reverting back to Allah and the Messenger' takes two forms:

1. Revert to ahkam, the code of commands as mandated in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah.

2. If the textually-mandated ahkam do not exist, the act of reverting back will be accomplished by analogical deduction (Qiyas) as based on their precedents.

The words of the expression: فَرُدُّہ (revert it back) are general, thus being inclusive of both forms.