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The Isley Brothers

The Isley Brothers are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, the group has enjoyed one of the "longest, most influential, and most diverse careers in the pantheon of popular music".

Together with a fourth brother, Vernon, the group performed gospel music until Vernon's death a few years after its formation. After moving to New York City in the late 1950s, the group had their first successes during these early years, and rose to prominence in 1959 with their fourth single, "Shout", written by the three brothers, which became their first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, and sold over a million copies. In the 1960s, the group recorded songs for a variety of labels, including the top 20 single "Twist and Shout" and the Motown single "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)", before recording and releasing the Grammy Award-winning hit "It's Your Thing" on their own label, T-Neck Records.

The inclusion of younger brothers Ernie Isley (lead guitar, drums) and Marvin Isley (bass guitar), and Rudolph's brother-in-law Chris Jasper (keyboards, synthesizers), in 1973 turned the original vocal trio into a complete band and led to the group's reaching the height of their success. For the next full decade, they recorded a string of top-selling albums including 3 + 3, Between the Sheets, and The Heat Is On, with the latter peaking at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. The six-member band splintered in 1983, with Ernie, Marvin, and Chris Jasper forming the short-lived spinoff group Isley-Jasper-Isley. The oldest member, O'Kelly, died in 1986. Afterwards Rudolph and Ronald released a pair of albums as a duo before Rudolph retired to a life in the Christian ministry in 1989. After multiple lineup changes, the remaining duo of Ronald and Ernie achieved mainstream success with the albums Mission to Please (1996), Eternal (2001) and Body Kiss (2003). Eternal spawned the top 20 hit "Contagious". , the Isley Brothers continue to perform under the lineup of Ronald and Ernie.

The Isley Brothers have sold over 18 million units in the United States alone. With their first major hit charting in 1959 ("Shout"), and their last one in 2001 ("Contagious"), they are among the few groups ever to have hit the Billboard Hot 100 with new music in six different decades. Sixteen of their albums charted in the Top 40 and thirteen of those albums have been certified gold, platinum or multi-platinum by the RIAA. The brothers have been honored by several musical institutions, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted them in 1992. Five years later, they were added to Hollywood's Rockwalk, and in 2003 they were inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. They received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.

Origins and initial recordings
The Isley Brothers originally came from Cincinnati, Ohio, and were raised in the city's Lincoln Heights suburb, settling in the satellite town of Blue Ash when they were teenagers. Their father, O'Kelly Isley Sr., a former United States Navy sailor and vaudeville performer from Durham, North Carolina, and their mother Sallye, from Georgia, guided the elder four Isley boys in their singing in church. The brothers began performing together in 1954, patterning themselves after groups such as Billy Ward and His Dominoes and The Dixie Hummingbirds. Eventually, they landed a spot on Ted Mack's Amateur Hour, where they won the competition (their prize was a watch). With Vernon singing lead vocals, the quartet soon began touring all over the eastern US, performing in a variety of churches. When Vernon was thirteen, he was killed by a car that struck him as he was riding his bike in his neighborhood. Devastated, the remaining trio disbanded.

Eventually persuaded to regroup, with Ronnie assuming the lead vocal position, the brothers decided to record popular music and left Cincinnati for New York in 1957 with their parents' blessings. The group got in touch with Richard Barrett, who soon had them in contact with a variety of New York record producers. They eventually had their first recorded songs produced by George Goldner, including "Angels Cried" and "The Cow Jumped Over the Moon" for the Teenage, Cindy, and Mark X imprints. The songs were only regional hits, however. By 1959, the group had landed a recording deal with RCA Records. Later that year, the group recorded their first composition together, "Shout", mixing their brand of gospel vocals and doo-wop harmonies, a song derived from a Washington, D.C., club performance in which the brothers had covered Jackie Wilson's "Lonely Teardrops". The original version of the song peaked at number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100 and never reached the R&B chart. Nevertheless, it sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.

Follow-up recordings on RCA failed to chart and the brothers left the label in 1961, and later signed with Scepter Records. In 1962, the Isley Brothers scored their first top 40 hit with the Bert Berns song "Twist and Shout", which reached number 17 on the Hot 100 and number 2 on the R&B chart, staying on the charts for 19 weeks. The song had been produced by Berns for the brothers to teach then-struggling producer Phil Spector how to produce a hit.

Moving their entire operations to New Jersey, the brothers continued to struggle with recordings, and formed T-Neck Records in 1964.

During that period, Jimi Hendrix began playing lead guitar for the brothers' band. Bringing Hendrix with them to the studio, they recorded the song "Testify". Later, Hendrix contributed guitar to another Isleys single, "Move On Over and Let Me Dance", which was recorded for T-Neck and distributed by Atlantic Records. After both songs failed to chart and Hendrix left the Isleys for good in 1965, the brothers signed with Motown Records. Early the following year, the group released their second Top 40 hit single, "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)". While the Isley Brothers' recordings with Motown were more successful than their earlier works, they struggled to score a follow-up Top 40 hit with the label. They left Motown in 1968.

Major success
Resurrecting their T-Neck label that year, the brothers signed a distribution deal with Buddah Records and issued "It's Your Thing" in February 1969. The song, which featured the first appearance of Ernie Isley on bass, became their biggest success to date, reaching number 2 on the Hot 100 and number 1 on the R&B chart. The song's parent album, It's Our Thing, reached number 22 on the Pop LP chart, and "It's Your Thing" became the group's second million-seller and won them a Grammy Award. The release of "It's Your Thing" brought record label conflicts between the Isleys and Motown, as Motown argued that the group had recorded the song while still under their Motown contract. A 1975 court decision found in the Isleys' favor.

In June 1969, the brothers independently recorded their concert at Yankee Stadium which featured an array of artists. The live album Live at Yankee Stadium was released later that year. They also filmed the concert which was released as a documentary titled It's Your Thing in theaters in August 1970.

By 1971, the younger Isley brothers Ernie and Marvin and their brother-in-law Chris Jasper started to add to the band's music, first performing on the Isleys' Givin' It Back. The album featured reinterpretations of rock songs mixing them with funk and gospel elements. The new members played an even bigger role in the 1972 album, Brother, Brother, Brother. Both albums yielded Top 40 hits, including "Love the One You're With" and "Pop That Thang". By the end of their Buddah tenure in 1973, the brothers had signed a distribution deal with Epic Records and made Ernie, Marvin, and Chris official members. In 1973, the Isleys released 3 + 3, which included the Top 10 hit single "That Lady" and a UK Top 10 cover of "Summer Breeze". Incorporating hard rock and folk-rock as well as funk and soulful balladry, the album became their breakthrough hit, eventually selling over two million copies.

The following year, the album Live It Up also reached platinum. In 1975, the brothers made one of their most successful recordings, The Heat Is On, which featured the hits "Fight the Power" and "For the Love of You", and became their first album to reach number 1 on the Pop LP chart, going double-platinum at two million copies sold. The brothers would have more hit albums, including Harvest for the World (1976), Go for Your Guns (1977), and Showdown (1978), all of which went platinum, and yielded several Top 40 pop and R&B singles and popular radio cuts. By 1979, with the release of Winner Takes All, the brothers had incorporated disco and quiet storm music into their work. The Isley Brothers' final album under their six-member lineup, Between the Sheets (1983), sold more than two million copies.

By then, financial struggles, creative difficulties, and other issues affected the group. Shortly after the success of Between the Sheets, Ernie, Marvin, and Chris left the Isley Brothers and formed Isley-Jasper-Isley. They later recorded the hit "Caravan of Love".

Later years
In 1985, the original Isleys trio of O'Kelly, Rudy, and Ronnie signed with Warner Bros. Records and recorded and released the album Masterpiece. Shortly a year after its release, Kelly Isley died from a heart attack while battling cancer, in March 1986. The remaining duo of Ron and Rudy released the Angela Winbush-produced albums, Smooth Sailin' in 1987 and Spend the Night in 1989. Shortly after the latter release, Rudy retired from the music industry and followed life in the ministry.

Ron put the group on a brief hiatus in 1990 while he recorded solo material. In 1991, Ron revived the group; Ernie Isley and brother Marvin returned to the fold. that year they released the album, Tracks of Life. Five years later, Ron Isley gained popularity as video villain Frank Biggs (or Mr. Biggs) in the music video for R. Kelly's hit "Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)", which included the Isley Brothers as featured artists. The success of the song and its video helped the brothers' 1996 album Mission to Please reach platinum status.

That same year, Marvin Isley's career ended after a bout with diabetes forced him to have both of his legs amputated. Ron and Ernie have carried on as a duo from then on. In 2001, the duo released their best-selling album in years with the Eternal album, which sold over two million copies and featured the top 20 hit single "Contagious", making the Isley Brothers the only act to reach the Hot 100 (in fact, that chart's top 50) during the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. Two years later, the brothers' Body Kiss album peaked at number-one on the Billboard 200 album chart, becoming their second to reach the position and the first to do so since The Heat Is On. Their next two released albums included 2006's Baby Makin' Music and the 2007 holiday album I'll Be Home for Christmas.

In 2007, the Isleys' career was interrupted by Ron Isley's three-year prison sentence for tax evasion. He was released in 2010. In June of that year, youngest brother Marvin Isley died in Chicago after his longtime bout with diabetes. During the group's hiatus, Ernie toured as part of the Experience Hendrix concert festival, while Ron Isley released his first solo album, Mr. I, in 2010. A year later, Ron and Ernie reunited and have since performed on the road. In 1993, The Isley Brothers song "Footsteps in the Dark" was sampled by hip-hop artist Ice Cube for the hit single "It Was a Good Day".

In 1994, The Isley Brothers song "Between the Sheets" was sampled by The Notorious B.I.G. for his hit single "Big Poppa". That same year, R&B singer Aaliyah included a cover version of "(At Your Best) You Are Love" on her debut album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. "Luxurious", the fifth single from No Doubt frontwoman Gwen Stefani's 2004 multi-platinum solo debut Love. Angel. Music. Baby. also benefited from a prominent sample of "Between the Sheets".

After the break-up of Isley-Jasper-Isley in 1987, Chris Jasper continued as a solo artist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, forming his own independent record label, Gold City Records. He has since released 14 solo albums, including 4 gospel albums. He released the #1 R&B hit "Superbad" in 1988, a song which emphasized the importance of education, a theme Jasper continues to emphasize in many of the songs he has written since his days with the Isleys. In January 2013, Jasper released Inspired: By Love, By Life, By the Spirit, a compilation of love songs as well as socially conscious and spiritual tracks. In May 2014, Jasper released The One, reminiscent of the soulful R&B and funk music he wrote for the Isleys. In 2016, Jasper released Share With Me, which included a cover of the Billy Preston hit, "You Are So Beautiful" and a track called "America", a tribute to the nation and a call to come together. In April 2018, Jasper pre-released a double-A single "The Love That You Give/It's a Miracle" from his 15th solo album Dance With You, scheduled for a July 2018 release.

Jasper, who earned a law degree in 2004, has continued to write, record, and perform all the music on his solo albums and produce artists for his Gold City label, including Liz Hogue, Out Front, and Brothaz By Choice. The most recent addition to the Gold City label is Jasper's son, Michael Jasper, a songwriter, recording artist and screenplay writer, who earned his law degree in 2018. In 1989, Chris Jasper wrote, produced and performed on "Make It Last" for Chaka Khan's CK album. In 2015, in conjunction with Sony Music, Jasper released the Essential Chris Jasper which encompasses all of the tracks that Jasper sang lead on during his Isley-Jasper-Isley years and solo career at CBS/Sony Music. In 2015, he received the German Record Critics Lifetime Achievement Award ("Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik"). In 2016, Jasper was awarded the National R&B Society Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 2017, Ernie and Ronnie Isley collaborated with guitarist Carlos Santana and released Power of Peace, released on July 28 by Sony Music's Legacy Recordings. In 2019, Ron and Ernie Isley received the National R&B Music Society's Lifetime Achievement Award and Proclamations from the City of Atlantic City, while on stage in Atlantic City, NJ. In 2021 the brothers participated in a Verzuz with fellow R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire hosted by Steve Harvey, to celebrate both bands contributions to R&B & Pop music and African American culture.

On September 30, 2022, the Isley Brothers released a new album, titled Make Me Say It Again, Girl.

Musical style and influences
Influenced by gospel and doo-wop music, the group experimented with different musical styles over the course of their career, starting out in rock and roll before shifting their sound to soul music, then funk and funk rock. The group has also performed rhythm and blues and pop ballads.

Awards and nominations
The Isley Brothers were inducted the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. In 1997, they were inducted into Hollywood's Rockwalk, and in 2003 they were inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

Grammy Awards
The Isley Brothers have won two Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Two of their songs are inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
 * 1970
 * "It's Your Thing"
 * Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group
 * Won
 * 2002
 * "Contagious"
 * Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
 * Nominated
 * 2004
 * "Busted"
 * Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
 * Nominated
 * 2004
 * Body Kiss
 * Best R&B Album
 * Nominated
 * 2014
 * Isley Brothers
 * Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
 * Won
 * 2014
 * Isley Brothers
 * Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
 * Won
 * Won

Grammy Hall of Fame

 * 1999
 * "Shout"
 * Hall of Fame (Single)
 * Inducted
 * 2010
 * "Twist and Shout"
 * Hall of Fame (Single)
 * Inducted
 * Hall of Fame (Single)
 * Inducted

Members

 * Current members
 * Ronald Isley – lead vocals (1955–present), backing vocals (1954–1955)
 * Ernie Isley – guitars, bass, drums, percussion (1969–1984, 1991–present)
 * Former members
 * Vernon Isley – lead vocals (1954–1955; his death)
 * Rudolph Isley – backing vocals (1954–1989, 2004; died 2023)
 * O'Kelly Isley Jr. – backing vocals (1954–1986; his death)
 * Marvin Isley – bass (1969–1970, 1971–1984, 1991–1997; died 2010)
 * Chris Jasper – keyboards, backing vocals, conducted string arrangements, guitars, bass , percussion (1969, 1971–1984)

Discography

 * Studio albums
 * Shout! (1959)
 * Twist & Shout (1962)
 * Twisting and Shouting (1963)
 * This Old Heart of Mine (1966)
 * Soul on the Rocks (1967)
 * It's Our Thing (1969)
 * The Brothers: Isley (1969)
 * Get into Something (1970)
 * Givin' It Back (1971)
 * Brother, Brother, Brother (1972)
 * 3 + 3 (1973)
 * Live It Up (1974)
 * The Heat Is On (1975)
 * Harvest for the World (1976)
 * Go for Your Guns (1977)
 * Showdown (1978)
 * Winner Takes All (1979)
 * Go All the Way (1980)
 * Grand Slam (1981)
 * Inside You (1981)
 * The Real Deal (1982)
 * Between the Sheets (1983)
 * Masterpiece (1985)
 * Smooth Sailin' (1987)
 * Spend the Night (1989)
 * Tracks of Life (1992)
 * Mission to Please (1996)
 * Eternal (2001)
 * Body Kiss (2003)
 * Baby Makin' Music (2006)
 * Power of Peace (2017)
 * Make Me Say It Again, Girl (2022)

title: The Isley Brothers


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Doc Pomus

Jerome Solon Felder (June 27, 1925 – March 14, 1991), known professionally as Doc Pomus, was an American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-writer of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer in 1992, the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1992), and the Blues Hall of Fame (2012).

Early life
Born Jerome Solon Felder in 1925 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, he was the son of Jewish immigrants. He attended Brooklyn College from 1943 to 1945. Felder became a fan of the blues after hearing a Big Joe Turner record, "Piney Brown Blues". Having contracted polio as a boy, he walked with the aid of crutches. Later, due to post-polio syndrome exacerbated by an accident, Felder relied on a wheelchair.

His brother is New York attorney Raoul Felder.

Career
Using the stage name Doc Pomus, teenager Felder began performing as a blues singer. His stage name was not inspired by anyone in particular; he just thought it sounded better for a blues singer than Jerry Felder. Pomus stated that more often than not, he was the only Caucasian in the clubs, but that as a Jew with polio, he felt a special underdog kinship with African Americans, while in turn the audiences respected his courage and were impressed by his talent. Gigging at clubs in and around New York City, Pomus often performed with Milt Jackson, Mickey Baker, and King Curtis. Pomus recorded about forty sides as a singer in the 1940s and 1950s for Chess, Apollo, Dawn, Gotham, and other recording companies.

In the early 1950s, Pomus began writing magazine articles, as well as songwriting for Lavern Baker, Ruth Brown, Ray Charles, and Big Joe Turner. In 1957 he married an aspiring Broadway actress from Westville, Illinois, named Willi Burke. They were divorced in 1966. His first songwriting break came when the Coasters recorded a hit with the song "Young Blood", although the melody had been radically changed by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Still, Pomus had co-credit as lyricist, and soon received a royalty check for $2,500 (US$0 in dollars), an event that convinced him that songwriting was a career worth pursuing. By 1957, Pomus had given up performing in favor of songwriting.

Pomus collaborated with pianist Mort Shuman, whom he met when Shuman was dating Pomus's younger cousin. Songwriter Otis Blackwell introduced the duo to Hill & Range Music Co./Rumbalero Music at its offices in New York City's Brill Building. Pomus asked Shuman to write with him because Pomus did not know much about contemporary rock and roll, whereas Shuman was acquainted with popular artists of the day. For the most part, Pomus wrote the lyrics while Shuman composed the melodies, but they often collaborated on both aspects of their songs. Together they wrote "A Teenager in Love", "Save The Last Dance For Me", "Hushabye", "This Magic Moment", "Turn Me Loose", "Sweets For My Sweet" (a hit for The Drifters, and later The Searchers), "Go, Jimmy, Go", "Little Sister", "Can't Get Used to Losing You", "Suspicion", "Surrender", and "(Marie's the Name of) His Latest Flame".

During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Pomus wrote several songs with Phil Spector ("Young Boy Blues", "Ecstasy", "First Taste of Love" and "What Am I To Do?"), Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber ("Young Blood" and "She's Not You"), and other Brill Building-era writers. Pomus also wrote "Lonely Avenue", a 1956 hit for Ray Charles.

In the 1970s and 1980s, in his eleventh-floor, two-room apartment at the Westover Hotel at 253 West 72nd Street, Pomus wrote songs with Dr. John, Ken Hirsch, and Willy DeVille for what he said were "... those people stumbling around in the night out there, uncertain or not always so certain of exactly where they fit in and where they were headed." These later songs ("There Must Be A Better World", "There Is Always One More Time", "That World Outside", "You Just Keep Holding On", and "Something Beautiful Dying")—recorded by Willy DeVille, B.B. King, Irma Thomas, Marianne Faithfull, Charlie Rich, Ruth Brown, Dr. John, James Booker, and Johnny Adams—are considered by some, including writer Peter Guralnick, musician and songwriter Dr. John, and producer Joel Dorn, to be signatures of Pomus's best craft.

The documentary film A.K.A. Doc Pomus (2012), conceived by Pomus's daughter Sharyn Felder, directed by filmmaker Peter Miller, edited by Amy Linton, and produced by Felder, Hechter, and Miller, presents Pomus's biography.

Pomus died on March 14, 1991, of lung cancer at the age of 65 at NYU Medical Center in Manhattan.

Legacy and influence
Together with Shuman, and individually, Pomus was a key figure in the development of popular music. The duo co-wrote such hits as "A Teenager in Love", "Save the Last Dance for Me", "This Magic Moment", "Sweets for My Sweet", "Viva Las Vegas", "Little Sister", "Surrender", "Can't Get Used to Losing You", "Suspicion", "Turn Me Loose" and "A Mess of Blues".
 * Pomus was elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
 * In 1991, he was the first non-African American recipient of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation Pioneer Award. Ray Charles presented the award via a pre-recorded message.
 * The funk band Cameo was heavily influenced by Pomus's song-writing style and frequently acknowledges his impact before performing their hit song "Word Up."
 * Longtime friend, jazz singer Jimmy Scott, performed at Pomus's funeral, a performance that resurrected his career. Other attendees included Seymour Stein, who subsequently signed Scott to Sire Records, and Lou Reed, who thereafter would regularly work with Scott until his death. Pomus had been imploring his friends to hear Scott sing for many years.
 * The song "Doc's Blues" was written as a tribute to Pomus by his close friend, Andrew Vachss. The lyrics originally appeared in Vachss's 1990 novel Blossom. "Doc's Blues" was recorded by bluesman Son Seals on Seals's last album, Lettin' Go.
 * Responsible for Lou Reed's introduction to the music industry in the early 1960s, Pomus was one of two friends Reed memorialized on his 1992 album Magic and Loss.
 * In 1995, Rhino Records released a tribute album to Pomus titledTill The Night Is Gone. Pomus's songs are performed by Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Dion, Dr. John, Irma Thomas, Solomon Burke, John Hiatt, Shawn Colvin, Aaron Neville, Lou Reed, The Band, B.B. King, Los Lobos, and Rosanne Cash.
 * In 2010, Ben Folds and Nick Hornby named their collaborative album on which the song "Doc Pomus" appeared Lonely Avenue. The lyrics referenced an excerpt from Pomus's unfinished memoir, February 21, 1984: "I was never one of those happy cripples who stumbled around smiling and shiny-eyed, trying to get the world to cluck its tongue and shake its head sadly in my direction. They'd never look at me and say, 'What a wonderful, courageous fellow. The album featured lyrics by British author Hornby, set to music by American performer Folds. It was released on September 28, 2010.
 * John Goodman's character in the Coen brothers' 2013 dramedy Inside Llewyn Davis was loosely inspired by Pomus.
 * Songs written or co-written by Doc Pomus have been recorded by Joe Cocker, ZZ Top, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Elvis Costello, Dean Martin, Andy Williams, The Beatles, Bad Company, Leonard Cohen, Van Morrison, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Buble, Dolly Parton, Emmy Lou Harris, Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Harry Nilsson, John Hiatt, The Beach Boys, B.B. King, The New York Dolls, Shawn Colvin, Los Lobos, Dion, and hundreds of others.
 * Bob Dylan's 2022 book,The Philosophy of Modern Song, is dedicated to Doc Pomus.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Doc Pomus


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Ijtihad

Ijtihad (اجتهاد , lit. 'physical effort' or '' or 'mental effort') is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a legal question. It is contrasted with taqlid (imitation, conformity to legal precedent). According to classical Sunni theory, ijtihad requires expertise in the Arabic language, theology, revealed texts, and principles of jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh), and is not employed where authentic and authoritative texts (Qur'an and hadith) are considered unambiguous with regard to the question, or where there is an existing scholarly consensus (ijma). Ijtihad is considered to be a religious duty for those qualified to perform it. An Islamic scholar who is qualified to perform ijtihad is called as a "mujtahid".

Throughout the first five Islamic centuries, the practice of ijtihad continued both theoretically and practically amongst Sunni Muslims. The controversy surrounding ijtihad and the existence of mujtahids started, in its primitive form, around the beginning of the sixth/twelfth century. By the 14th century, development of Islamic Fiqh (jurisprudence) prompted leading Sunni jurists to state that the main legal questions had been addressed and the scope of ijtihad was gradually restricted. In the modern era, this gave rise to a perception amongst Orientalist scholars and sections of the Muslim public that the so-called "gate of ijtihad" was closed at the start of the classical era. While recent scholarship established that the practice of Ijtihad had never ceased in Islamic history, the extent and mechanisms of legal change in the post-formative period remain a subject of debate. Differences amongst the Fuqaha (jurists) prevented Sunni Muslims from reaching any consensus (Ijma) on the issues of continuity of Ijtihad and existence of Mujtahids. Thus, Ijtihad remained a key aspect of Islamic jurisprudence throughout the centuries. Ijtihad was practiced throughout the Early modern period and claims for ijtihad and its superiority over taqlid were voiced unremittingly.

Starting from the 18th century, Islamic reformers began calling for abandonment of taqlid and emphasis on ijtihad, which they saw as a return to Islamic origins. Public debates in the Muslim world surrounding ijtihad continue to the present day. The advocacy of ijtihad has been particularly associated with Islamic modernist and Salafiyya movements. Among contemporary Muslims in the West there have emerged new visions of ijtihad which emphasize substantive moral values over traditional juridical methodology.

Shia jurists did not use the term ijtihad until the 12th century. With the exception of Zaydi jurisprudence, the early Imami Shia were unanimous in censuring Ijtihad in the field of law (Ahkam). After the Shiite embrace of various doctrines of Mu'tazila and classical Sunnite Fiqh (jurisprudence), this led to a change. After the victory of the Usulis who based law on principles (usul) over the Akhbaris ("traditionalists") who emphasized on reports or traditions (khabar) by the 19th century, Ijtihad would become a mainstream Shia practice.

Etymology and definition
The word derives from the three-letter Arabic verbal root of ج-ه-د gimel (letter)-H-D (, 'struggle'): the "t" is inserted because the word is a derived stem VIII verb. In its literal meaning, the word refers to effort, physical or mental, expended in a particular activity. In its technical sense, ijtihad can be defined as a "process of legal reasoning and hermeneutics through which the jurist-mujtahid derives or rationalizes law on the basis of the Qur'an and the Sunna".

The juristic meaning of ijtihād has several definitions according to scholars of Islamic legal theory. Some define it as the jurist's action and activity to reach a solution. Al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111) defines it as the "total expenditure of effort made by a jurist for the purpose of obtaining the religious rulings." Similarly the ijtihād is defined as "the effort made by the mujtahid in seeking knowledge of the aḥkām (rulings) of the sharī‘ah (Islamic canonical law) through interpretation."

From this point of view that ijtihād essentially consists of an inference (istinbāṭ) that extents to a probability (ẓann). Thus it excludes the extraction of a ruling from a clear text as well as rulings made without recourse to independent legal reasoning. A knowledgeable person who gives a ruling on the sharī‘ah, but is not able to exercise their judgement in the inference of the rulings from the sources, is not called a mujtahid but rather a muqallid.

Scriptural basis
Islamic scholar Asghar Ali Engineer cites a hadith related by a sahabi (companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad) by the name of Muadh ibn Jabal (also Ma’adh bin Jabal), as the basis for ijtihad. According to the hadith from Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 24, Muadh was appointed by Muhammad to go to Yemen. Before leaving he was asked how he would judge when the occasion of deciding a case arose. "Ma’adh said, according to the Quran. The Prophet thereupon asked what he would do if he did not find the solution to the problem in the Quran, to which Ma’adh said he would govern according to the Sunnah. But when the Prophet asked if he could not find it in the Sunnah also, Ma’adh said 'ana ajtahidu' (I will exert myself to find the solution). The Prophet thereupon patted his back and told him he was right."

Formative period
During the early period, ijtihad referred to the exertion of mental energy to arrive at a legal opinion (ra'y) on the basis of the knowledge of the Divine Revelation. Jurists used Ijtihad to help reach legal rulings, in cases where the Qur'an and Sunna did not provide clear direction for certain decisions. It was the duty of the educated jurists to come to a ruling that would be in the best interest of the Muslim community and promote the public good.

As religious law continued to develop over time, ra'y became insufficient in making sure that fair legal rulings were being derived in keeping with both the Qur'an and Sunna. However, during this time, the meaning and process of ijtihad became more clearly constructed. Ijtihad was "limited to a systematic method of interpreting the law on the basis of authoritative texts, the Quran and Sunna".

As the practice of ijtihad transformed over time, it became religious duty of a mujtahid to conduct legal rulings for the Muslim society. Mujtahid is defined as a Muslim scholar that has met certain requirements including a strong knowledge of the Qur'an, Sunna, and Arabic, as well as a deep understanding of legal theory and the precedent; all of which allows them to be considered fully qualified to practice ijtihad.

Origins of the controversy
The controversy over the existence of Mujtahids began in its nascent form during the sixth/12th century. The fifth century Hanbali jurist Ibn 'Aqil (1040–1119) responding to a Hanafi jurist's statement, advocated for the necessity of existence of Mujtahids using scripture and reasoning. A century later, Shafi'i jurist Al-Amidi would counter the premise of Hanbalis and prominent Shafīʿis arguing that extinction of Mujtahids is possible. Over the centuries, the controversy would garner more attention with the scholars gathering around 3 camps: 1) Hanbalis and majority of Shafīʿis who denied the theoretical possibility of Mujtahid 's extinction 2) a group of jurists who asserted that extinction of Mujtahids is possible but not proven 3) a group who advocated the extinction of Mujtahids.

To validate their points, the scholars of Taqlid camp cited Prophetic hadiths that report the disappearance of knowledge when ignorant leaders "will give judgements" and misguide others. Muqallids also argued that Ijtihad isn't a communal obligation (fard kifaya) when it is possible to blindly imitate the laws of ancestors received through transmitted chains of narrations. Hanbalis, the staunch advocates of permanent existence of Mujtahids, countered by citing Prophetic reports which validated their view that knowledge and sound judgement would accompany the Muslim Ummah led by Mujtahid scholars until the Day of Judgment, thus giving theological implications to the controversy. They also raised the question of leadership and interpretive religious authority to vigorously deny the possibility of an age without Mujtahids, a doctrine which they defended using both Scripultural and rational arguments. Citing Prophetic traditions such as "scholars are the heirs of the prophets", Hanbalis settled on the belief that God would not leave any age without a proper guide, i.e., Islamic Fuqaha (jurists) who solve novel issues through Ijtihad.

Majority of Shafīʿi scholars too were leading advocates of Ijtihad as a fard kifaya (communal obligation). The prominent 16th century Shafi'i legal treatise Fath-ul-Mueen affirmed the existence of Mujtahids and obligated them to take the post of Qadi as fard kifaya. Leading Shafīʿi jurist Al-Suyuti (1445-1505) also stipulated Ijtihad as a communal obligation, the abandonment of which would be sinful upon the whole Ummah. Shafīʿis also upheld the popular Muslim tradition of appearance of Mujaddids who would renew the religion every century. As promoters of the idea of Mujaddids; (who were assumed as Mujtahids) majority of jurists who claimed Tajdid or honoured as Mujaddids were Shafīʿis. On the other hand, some prominent Shafīʿi jurists like Al-Rafi'i (d. 623) had made statements speculating an "agreement" on the absence of Mujtahid Mutlaqs (highest-ranking Mujtahid) during his era while few others affirmed theoretical possibility of absence of Mujtahids. However, such statements had ambiguities in legal terminology and didn't stipulate an established consensus on the issue. In addition, Rafi'i himself was considered as a Mujtahid and a Mujaddid.

Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi (d. 676/1277), a prominent Shafī'i Muhaddith and Jurist, who is a primary reference even for Shafiites of Taqleed camp; advocated that it isn't obligatory for laymen to adhere to a mad'hab, reinforcing the orthodox Shafī'ite pro-Ijtihad position. Other prominent classical Shafī'i jurists who advocated the pro-Ijtihad position included Taj ud Din al Subki, Dhahabi, Izz ud Deen Ibn Abdussalam, Ibn al Salah, Al Bulqini, etc. Taj ud Din al Subki (d. 1370) summed up the classical-era Shafi'i position in his Kitāb Mu'īd an-Ni'am wa-Mubīd an-Niqām:"'It is unacceptable to Allah, the forcing of people to accept one madhab and the associated partisanship (tahazzub) in the subsidiary issues of the Din and nothing pushes this fervour and zealously except partisanship and jealousy. If Abu Haneefah, Shafi, Malik and Ahmad were alive they would severely censure these people and they would dissassociate themselves from them.'"

Emergence of the "closure of the gates" notion
In contrast to the view of these Shafiites, classical Shafi'ite theologian 'Abd al-Malik al-Juwayni (d. 1085 C.E/ 478 A.H) postulated a new doctrine on the controversy of the existence of Mujtahids. Juwaynī and his Shāfiʿī colleagues insisted that not only the disappearance of Mujtahids was possible, but that it had already happened. Juwayni's doctrine was taken by his student Ghazālī (d. 1111 C.E/ 505 A.H), al-Qaffāl al-Shāshī (d. 1113 C.E/507 A.H) and promoted in the next century by the Shafi'i scholars Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606/1209), Sayf al-Dīn al-Āmidī (d. 631/1233), and Rāfiʿī (d. 623/1226). These scholars asserted the belief that Mujtahids had already disappeared, and some would claim a consensus on this point. Thereafter, the theory of legal minimalism elucidated by Juwayni in his book Ghiyāth al-umam fī iltiyāth al zulam, penned for his Seljuk patron Nizam ul-Mulk, would be popularised. This system listed a set of core principles that implemented legal and procedural minimalism; and attempted the standardisation of Islamic courts and legal framework in the medieval Muslim World.

Most significantly, the influential Islamic theologian Al Ghazzali introduced the notion of closure of Ijtihad since he viewed numerous people with inadequate knowledge of Qur'an as claiming to be Mujtahids. Ghazzali's emphasis on rigorous asceticism and imitation of traditions practised by Sufi mystics led him to attack rational enquiry and sciences like physics for contradicting religion. Owing to his status as a great scholar, numerous ulema followed his call; even though many continued to dispute it. Intellectuals like Hasan Hanafi argue that Ghazali had tried to preclude the endeavour of Ijtihad during his era in order to establish a rigid, stable orthodoxy that could effectively challenge external enemies of Islam like the Crusaders. According to Pakistani Professor of Philosophy C.A Qadir; Ghazzali's efforts had tremendous impact in limiting the scope of Ijtihad in medieval Islamic orthodxy.

However, there is still a vigorous scholarly debate regarding whether Al-Ghazali had himself "closed the gates" or whether he merely continued an established policy of his scholarly predecessors or whether the gate was ever closed. According to Professor James P. Piscatori, the provision for Ijtihad in Sunni Fiqh was never "tightly shut" and remained open to some extent. During the 16th century, majority of the clerical classes would claim Ghazzali's doctrine as sacrosanct and inviolable by Ijma (consensus). Post-classical era, a large part of Shafīʿi scholarship would also shift to a pro-Taqleed position owing to external influence from Hanafite-Malikite Muqallid camps. Most noteworthy amongst them were Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (d. 1566). However many still defended Ijtihad while others who theoretically affirmed the disappearance of Mujtahids rejected the claim that they did in reality.

Late classical period
Until the end of the 14th century, no voice had before actively risen to condemn the claims of mujtahids to practice ijtihad within their schools. However, the doctrine of Taqlid was steadily amassing support amongst the masses. The first incident in which muqallids openly attacked the claims of mujtahids occurred in Egypt, during the lifetime of Suyuti. Suyuti had claimed to practice the highest degree of Ijtihad within the Shafi'i school. He advocated that Ijtihad is a backbone of Sharia and believed in the continuous existence of Mujtahids.

Around the 15th century, most Sunni jurists argued that all major matters of religious law had been settled, allowing for taqlid (تقليد), "the established legal precedents and traditions," to take priority over ijtihād (اجتهاد). This move away from the practice of ijtihād was primarily made by the scholars of Hanafī and Malikī schools, and a number of Shafīʿis, but not by Hanbalīs and majority of Shafīʿi jurists who believed that "true consensus" (ijmāʿ اجماع), apart from that of Muhammad's Companions, did not exist" and that "the constant continuous existence of mujtahids (مجتهد) was a theological requirement." Although the Ottoman clergy denied Ijtihad in theory, throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, the Ottoman Hanafite ulema had practiced Ijtihad to solve a number of new legal issues. Various legal rulings were formulated on a number of issues, such as the Waqf of movables, on drugs, coffee, music, tobacco, etc. However to support the official doctrine of "extinction of Mujtahids", the Ottoman ulema denied Ijtihad even when it was practised.

The increasing prominence of taqlid had at one point led most Western scholars to believe that the "gate of ijtihad" was in fact effectively closed around tenth century. In a 1964 monograph, which exercised considerable influence on later scholars, Joseph Schacht wrote that "a consensus gradually established itself to the effect that from that time onwards no one could be deemed to have the necessary qualifications for independent reasoning in religious law, and that all future activity would have to be confined to the explanation, application, and, at the most, interpretation of the doctrine as it had been laid down once and for all."

While more recent research is said to have disproven the notion that the practice of ijtihad was abandoned in the tenth century — or even later in the 15th century — the extent of legal change during this period and its mechanisms remain a subject of scholarly debate. The Ijtihad camp primarily consisted of Hanbalis and Shafiites, while the Taqlid camp were primarily Hanafites who were supported to a greater or lesser extent by Malikis as well as some Shafi'is.

Ranking of Mujtahids
After the 11th century, Sunni legal theory developed systems for ranking jurists according to their qualifications for ijtihad. One such ranking placed the founders of maddhabs, who were credited with being "absolute mujtahids" (mujtahid muṭlaq) capable of methodological innovation, at the top, and jurists capable only of taqlīd at the bottom, with mujtahids and those who combined ijtihād and taqlīd given the middle ranks. In the 11th century, jurists required a mufti (jurisconsult) to be a mujtahid; by the middle of the 13th century, however, most scholars considered a muqallid (practitioner of taqlīd) to be qualified for the role. During that era some jurists began to ponder whether practitioners of ijtihad continued to exist and the phrase "closing of the gate of ijtihād" (إغلاق باب الاجتهاد iġlāq bāb al-ijtihād) appeared after the 16th century.

However, these rankings have been criticized for its arbitrariness. Many other distinguished scholars have been recorded by scholars as Mujtahid Mutlaqs even after the deaths of four Imams (to whom the four schools are attributed). Also, various schools were subject to transformation and evolution through time in ways that their founders had not imagined. The founders themselves had not stipulated many such rankings or classifications. Nor did they obligate strict adherence to a particular scholar or legal theory. In many cases, major parts of the legal theory were in fact developed by the later followers.

The classical Hanbali theologian Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1328 C.E/ 728 A.H) was a notable figure who dissented from the prevalent Madh'hab-based ranking standardisations and classifications. Arguing that the practice of Ijtihad is allowed for every Muslim, Ibn Taymiyya writes:"'...doors of ijtihād are open even to laymen, who are permitted to practice ijtihād without fear of punishment: the muftī, the soldier and the layman. If they speak according to their ijtihād ..., intending to follow the Messenger to the extent of their knowledge, they do not deserve punishment; this is so by the consensus of the Muslims, even if they have erred in a matter for which consensus already exists.'"

Legal schools(mad'habs) had begun to take shape by the middle of the fourth/tenth century and practice of affiliating to the madhabs began to become popular. Systematic categorisation of Mujtahids emerged during late fifth/eleventh century into ranks of excellence. By doing so, they sought to facilitate the Ijtihad of qualified Muftis. The earliest known typology of jurists is Ibn Rushd's (d. 520/1126) tripartite classification of Muftis. In this typology, the top-Mufti was a Mujtahid (like Ibn Rushd himself) while the latter two ranks weren't, i.e., a Mujtahid must independently reason on the basis of Scriptures and general principles of the school. On the other hand, Ghazzali distinguished between two ranks of Mujtahids, the independent(Mutlaq) and the affiliated(Muqayyad) in a three-rank classification. In the seventh century, Shafi'i jurist Ibn al-Salah (d. 643/1245) would elaborate a five rank classification of Muftis. During the 10th/16th century, Ottoman Shaykh al-Islam Ammad Ibn Kamal (d. 940/1533) articulated a Hanafite typology of jurists with seven ranks. Unlike the previous typologies, the latter classification was promoted by Taqlid partisans who advocated that Mujtahids ceased to exist. All these classifications created an archetype of an ideal standard to which all other typologies must conform, i.e., the founders of 4 schools. However, this typological conception of the founder Mujtahid suffered from chronological ruptures, overlooking in the process the founder's predecessors as well as his immediate intellectual history that formed a continuity. Although the founder imams were accomplished jurists, they were not as absolutely and as categorically as they were portrayed to be, starting from the 5th/11th century. Ibn Kamal's seven-rank typology, in particular, would come under scathing criticism by other Hanafites as well, such as Muhammad Bakhit al-Muti'i (1854 or 1856 — 1935), who was the Grand Mufti of Al-Azhar.

Many Islamic reformers, starting from the 18th century would criticize these classifications altogether, since these classifications assumed every Mufti in terms of leaders and followers, affiliated to the founder imams and succeeding generations who are progressively inferior to knowledge of imams. Faithful to the tenets of Ibn Taymiyya and Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab (1792 C.E/ 1206 A.H), the Wahhabi movement called for Ijtihad and opposed Taqlid. Advocating the Wahhabi stance on Ijtihad, 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan Aal-Al Shaykh (1196-1285 A.H / 1782-1868 C.E), influential Qadi of the Emirate of Nejd, asserts:"'.. when a scholar does his best to come to a right decision or verdict concerning a certain matter, if his verdict is right, he will get a double reward, and even if his verdict is wrong, he will still get a reward.... one who prefers the verdict of a scholar to the authorized proof, is to be severely rebuked. It is not permissible to imitate other scholars save in matters of ljithad,' which do not contain a proof from the Glorious Qur'an or the Prophetic Sunnah. This is what is called by scholars, 'There should be no denial in matters of ljtihad.' But, as for those who disagree with this or act otherwise, they should be rebuked and blamed.., this issue has gained the consensus of all scholars, as stated by lmam Ash-Shafi'i.'"

The 18th-century Islamic reformer and top-most Qadi of Yemen, Al-Shawkani (1759-1839) totally rejected the theory of classification of Mujtahids. According to him, there is only one form of Ijtihad which can be practised by anybody possessing sufficient knowledge. Shawkani maintains that it is sufficient for a scholar to study one compendium in each of the five disciplines to practice Ijtihad. According to Shawkani, the Muqallids who propagate the closure of Ijtihad and argue that only the four Imams can understand Qur'an and Sunnah are guilty of:

"'(telling lies) about Allah and accuse Him of being not capable of creating people that understand what is His law for them and how they must worship Him. They make it appear as if what he has enacted for them through His Book and His Messenger, is not an absolute but a temporary law, restricted to the period before the rise of the madhhabs. After their appearance, there was no Book and no Sunnah anymore [if these people are to be believed], but there emerged persons that enacted a new law and invented another religion..., by their personal opinions and sentiment.'"

This view would influence many 19th and 20th century Salafi reform movements.

Modern era
During the turn of the 16th to 17th century, Sunni Muslim reformers began to criticize taqlid, and promoted greater use of ijtihad in legal matters. They claimed that instead of looking solely to previous generations for practices developed by religious scholars, there should be an established doctrine and rule of behavior through the interpretation of original foundational texts of Islam—the Qur'an and Sunna.

During the 18th century, Islamic revivalists increasingly condemned the Muqallid camp through a mass of writings explaining the evils of Taqlid and advocating Ijtihad as well as defending its status as a Divinely established principle in sharia. This would often result in violence between their followers. Most prominent amongst them were Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, Shawkani, Muhammad ibn Isma'il Al-San'aani, Ibn Mu'ammar, Ahmad ibn Idris al-Fasi, Uthman Ibn Fudio, Muhammad ibn Ali al-Sanusi, etc.

Shah Waliullah Dehlawi was an ardent advocate of Ijtihad and considered it essential for the vigour of society. Re-inforcing the classical theory, he considered Ijtihad to be fard kifaya(communal obligation). Condemning the prevalent partisanship over Taqleed he denounced the Muqallid camp as the misguided "simpletons of our time". He considered himself as a Mujtahid of the highest rank affiliated to Hanafi school.

In his treatise Usul al-Sittah(Six Foundations), Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab harshly rebuked the Muqallids for raising the description of Mujtahids to humanely unattainable levels. He also condemned the practice of obligating Taqleed which deviated people away from Qur'an and Sunnah. In similar terms, Yemeni scholar Shawkani too condemned the practice of rigid Taqleed. Demonstrating the perpetual existence of Mujtahids in his works, Shawkani also argued that Ijtihad at later times was far easier due to detailed manuals unavailable for jurists of the past era.

Amongst the eighteenth-century reformers, the most radical condemnation of Taqlid and advocacy of Ijtihad was championed by the Arabian scholar Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, whose uncompromising reformist efforts often turned violent. Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab condemned the centuries-long heritage of jurisprudence (Fiqh) that coalesced into four schools ( mad'habs ) as an innovation. Challenging the authority of religious clerics, and a large portion of the classical scholarship, he proclaimed the necessity of directly returning to Qur'an and hadith, rather than relying on medieval interpretations. According to Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, in order to uphold true monotheism( Tawhid ), Muslims should return to the pristine Islam of the early generations (Salaf), stripped of all human additions and speculations. In his legal treatises such as Mukhtasar al-Insaf wa al-Sharh al-Kabir, Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab weighed in legal opinions between different schools, opening the realm to comparative Fiqh thinking and often referring the conclusions of Ibn Taymiyya. This legal approach of drawing inferences directly from Qur'an and Hadith ( istinbat ), instead of taqlid to one of the 4 law schools, as well as his prohibition of Taqlid, drew sharp condemnation from the Muqallid camp. In a scathing response, Muhammad Ibn 'Abdul Wahhab accused his detractors of taking "the scholars as lords" and vehemently condemned taqleed as the biggest principle of the kuffar (disbelievers), in his treatise Masa'il al-Jahiliyya ( Aspects of the Days of Ignorance) writing : "'Their religion was built upon certain principles, the greatest of which was taqleed (blind following). So this was the biggest principle for all of the disbelievers – the first and last of them'"

In face of the backlash towards Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab's uncompromising stance in his rejection of taqlid, advocacy of Ijtihad and radical anti-madhab views, the later Wahhabis became more conciliatory towards traditional four schools of Fiqh. Abdallah, the son of Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab also toned down the radical anti-Taqlid stances by stating that they affiliate themselves to the Hanbali school and do not condemn the common people who make taqleed to the four schools of jurisprudence. The earliest substantial Wahhabite treatise on Ijtihad was written by the scholar Ibn Mu'ammar (d. 1810), a student of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab and a Qadi of First Saudi state. In his treatise "Risalat al-Ijtihad wal Taqlid", Ibn Muammar gave respect to the four traditional Sunni schools of law and distinguished between two ranks of Mujtahids: independent Mujtahid and Mujtahid al-Muqayyid bound to the Imams. According to Ibn Mu'ammar, Taqlid is permissible for laymen and scholar without sufficient knowledge, but forbidden for those who can comprehend the bases of the law. Unlike Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, Ibn Mu'ammar permitted laypeople to make Taqleed to trustworthy scholars, with certain reservations. Despite this, he also criticized strict adherence to a madhab and denounced mad'hab fanaticism as a bid‘ah(innovation). According to Ibn Mu'ammar, the opinions of Imams should be discarded if they differ from authentic Prophetic traditions.

Outlining the conventional Wahhabi legal theory which harmonised the madhhab system with the practice of Ijtihad, Ibn Mu'ammar writes: "'Adopting the [revealed] proof [for a position] without considering the statements of [other] ulama is the function of the absolute mujtahid.... [Laity are] obligated to practice taqlid and to consult those with knowledge.. [But the idea that one must always follow a single school] is a false view which Satan has cast upon many claimants to knowledge. . . . [T]hey imagine that study of the proofs is a difficult matter, of which only an absolute mujtahid is capable. . . [They have even arrived at a claim] that one associated with the school of an imam is obliged to accept that school... even if it differs with the Qur'an and the sunna. Thus, the imam of the school is to the members of his school as the Prophet is to his Community,.. You will [also] find the fanatic adherents of the schools in many matters differing with the explicit positions of their imams, and following the views of the latecomers in their school,.. the books of the predecessors are hardly found among them.'"

Ahmad Ibn Idris Al-Fasi also emphasized on the practice of ijtihad. His criticism of Taqleed of the schools of law (madhhabs) was based on three concerns. First, the need for following the Prophetic traditions. Second, to reduce divisions between the Muslims. Third, mercy for the Muslims, because there were 'few circumstances on which the Quran and Sunna were genuinely silent, but if there was a silence on any question, then that silence was intentional on God's part- a divine mercy.' He therefore rejected any 'attempt to fill a silence deliberately left by God, and so to abrogate one of His mercies.'

His student, Muhammad ibn Ali al-Sanusi also followed in his footsteps. In his work Al-Bughya, Al Sanusi advocates for the need to practice Ijtihad. The most detailed treatise by Al-Sanusi on the topic of Ijtihad is Iqaz al-wasnan fi 'l-'amal bi'l-hadith wa'l-Qur`an. Quoting Ibn Taymiyya, Al Sanusi emphasizes on the principle of fallibility of the Imams of the madhabs and the obligation to follow the Sunnah. The opinions of the four Imams should only be used for a better understanding of Fiqh. Following Ibn Hazm and Shawkani, Sanussi asserted that taqlid is bid'ah(innovation) and fully condemned it. Sanussi distinguished between the independent Mujtahid and the affiliated Mujtahid and affirmed the existence of the affiliated Mujtahid in every age. He also objected to Taqlid and emphasized that Qur'an and Sunna must be given precedence over the opinions of Mujtahids, even in cases where the 4 Imams are wrong.

Remarkably, all these reformers shared common points of contact in Hijaz and a network of scholars with a Hijazi-Yemeni centre. Shah Waliullah Dehlawi and Muhammad Hayat as-Sindi were pupils of Muhammad Ibn Ibrahim Al Kurrani Al Kurdi as well as connected to Ibrahim Ibn Hasan Al Kurrani Al Kurdi (d. 1690) and AbuI-Baqa' al-Hasan ibn 'Ali al- Ajami (d. 1702). Al-Sanusi is also linked with these scholars via his teacher al-Badr b. 'Amir al-Mi'dani who was a student of Al-Sindi as well as via other independent chains. Al-Shawkani is connected to Ibrahim Al-Kurrani via his teacher Yusuf Ibn Muhammad.

Outside these circles, some scholars amongst traditional Sufi circles were also in favour of Ijtihad. These included the prominent Ottoman Hanafite jurist Ibn Abidin (1784-1836) who is a scholarly authoritaty for even Hanafites of the Taqleed camp. Ibn Abidin employed Ijtihad in order to issue fatwas, using reasoning and believed that ijtihad was acceptable to use in certain circumstances. According to Ibn Abidin, Hanafite Muftis should look up to rulings of Abu Hanifa, then Abu Yusuf, then Shaybani, then Zufar and then some lesser jurists for fatwas. However, if a previous Hanafi scholar hasn't found an answer to the issue, then he should employ Ijtihad to solve the novel issue. According to Ibn Abidin, it is not obligatory to follow a particular mad'hab as well.

Contemporary debates over Ijtihad
On the issue of existence of Mujtahids and continuity of Ijtihad, contemporary scholarship are divided into two diametric camps, and a third moderate camp:

1) Those who oppose Ijtihad: These include the Orientalist scholars who view that "Gates of Ijtihad are closed". Sufi groups such as Barelvis, Deobandis, etc. believe that Mujtahids have ceased to exist. Some others such as Said Nursi is not theoretically against Ijtihad, but advocates postponing Ijtihad to a later time when Muslims attain sufficient strength.

2) Those who advocate Ijtihad: These include Salafi scholars and Islamic modernists who believe in the existence of Mujtahids. Salafis argue that Ijtihad doesn't have a gate, but only pre-requisites. Others who advocate Ijtihad include Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad Asad, etc. Recent scholars in academia such as Wael Hallaq are also its supporters.

3) Those who take an intermediary position

Islamic modernism
Starting in the middle of the 19th century, Islamic modernists such as Sir Sayyid Ahmed Khan, Jamal al-din Al-Afghani, and Muhammad Abduh emerged seeking to revitalize Islam by re-establish and reform Islamic law and its interpretations to accommodate Islam with modern society. They emphasized the use of ijtihad, but in contrast to its original use, they sought to "apply contemporary intellectual methods" such as academic or scientific thought "to the task of reforming Islam". Al-Afghani proposed the new use of ijtihad that he believed would enable Muslims to think critically and apply their own individual interpretations of the innovations of modernity in the context of Islam.

One modernist argument for applying ijtihad to sharia law is that while "the principles and values underlying Sharia (i.e. usul al-fiqh)" are unalterable, human interpretation of sharia is not. Another, (made by Asghar Ali Engineer of India), is that the adaat (customs and traditions) of Arabs were used in the development of the sharia, and form an important part of it. They are very much not divine or immutable, and have no more legal justification to be part of the sharia than the adaat of Muslims—Iranians, Uzbeks, Turks, Chinese, Indians and others—living beyond the home of the original Muslim in the Arab Hejaz. "ummah was no longer a homogenous group but comprisedof [sic] various cultural communities with their own age-old customs and traditions. ... When Imam Al-Shafi‘i moved from Hejaz to Egypt, which was a confluence of Arab and Coptic cultures, he realised this and changed his position on several issues."

In Indonesia, following considerable debate among the ulema, Indonesian adaat "become part of Sharia as applicable in that country". This use of ijtihad of adaat applies to mu’amalat (socio-economic matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance), and not Ibadah fiqh (ritual salat, sawm, zakat, etc.). Asghar Ali Engineer argues that while the Quran was revealed in a "highly patriarchal" Arab adaat that still informs what is understood as sharia, the Quran itself has a "transcendental" vision of justice that includes "absolutely equal rights" between genders and should guide ijtihad of sharia.

Islamism and Salafism
Contemporary Salafis are major proponents of ijtihad. They criticize taqlid and believe ijtihad makes modern Islam more authentic and will guide Muslims back to the Golden Age of early Islam. Salafis assert that reliance on taqlid has led to Islam's decline.

Ahl-i-Hadith revivalist movement of subcontinent highly influenced by the thoughts of Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, Shawkani and Syed Ahmed Barelvi, fully condemn taqlid and advocate for ijtihad based on scriptures. Founded in mid-19th century in Bhopal, it places great emphasis on hadith studies and condemns imitation to the canonical law schools. They identify with the early school of Ahl al-Hadith. During the late 19th century, Najdi scholars would establish contacts with Ahl-i-Hadith and many Najdi students would study under the scholars of Ahl-i-Hadith, amongst them prominent scholars.

The Muslim Brotherhood traces its founding philosophies to al-Afghani's ijtihad. The Muslim Brotherhood holds that the practice of ijtihad will strengthen the faith of believers by compelling them to better familiarize themselves with the Quran and come to their own conclusions about its teachings. But as a political group the Muslim Brotherhood faces a major paradox between ijtihad as a religious matter and as a political one. Ijtihad weakens political unity and promotes pluralism, (which is also why many oppressive regimes reject ijtihad's legitimacy).

The Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini envisioned a prominent role for ijtihad in his political theory of "guardianship of the jurist" (vilāyat-e faqīh).

Osama bin Laden supported ijtihad. He criticized the Saudi regime for disallowing the "free believer" and imposing harsh restrictions on successful practice of Islam. Thus, Bin Laden believed his striving for the implementation of ijtihad was his "duty" (takleef).

Qualifications of a mujtahid
A mujtahid (مُجْتَهِد, "diligent") is an individual who is qualified to exercise ijtihad in the evaluation of Islamic law. The female equivalent is a mujtahida. In general mujtahids must have an extensive knowledge of Arabic, the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and legal theory (Usul al-fiqh). Sunni Islam and Shia Islam, due to their divergent beliefs regarding the persistence of divine authority, have different views on ijtihad and the qualifications required to achieve mujtahid.

Sunni
In the years following the death of Muhammad, Sunni Muslims practiced ijtihad and saw it as an acceptable form of the continuation of sacred instruction. Sunni Muslims justified practice of Ijtihad with a particular hadith, which cites Muhammad's approval of forming an individual sound legal opinion if the Qur'an and Sunnah contain no explicit text regarding that particular issue. As Muslims turned to the Quran and Sunnah to solve their legal issues, they began to recognize that these Divine proponents did not deal directly with certain topics of law. Therefore, Sunni jurists began to find other ways and sources for ijtihad which allowed for personal judgment of Islamic law. Thus, a legal theory (usul al-Fiqh) was developed during the classical period to facilitate Ijtihad. It established a coherent system of principles through which a jurist could extract rulings on upcoming issues. Only a competent Muslim of sound mind with intellectual qualifications was allowed to engage in Ijtihad. Abu'l-Husayn al-Basri (d. 436/1044) provides the earliest, complete account for the qualifications of a mujtahid, in his book "al-Mu'tamad fi Usul al-Fiqh". They include:
 * Enough knowledge of Arabic so that the scholar can read and understand both the Qur'an and the Sunnah.
 * Extensive comprehensive knowledge of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. More specifically, the scholar must have a full understanding of the Qur'an's legal contents. In regards to the Sunnah the scholar must understand the specific texts that refer to law and also the incidence of abrogation in the Sunnah.
 * Must be able to confirm the consensus (Ijma) of the Companions, the Successors, and the leading Imams and mujtahideen of the past, in order to prevent making decisions that disregard these honored decisions made in the past.
 * Should be able to fully understand the objectives of the sharia and be dedicated to the protection of the five necessities, which are life, religion, intellect, lineage, and property.
 * Be able to distinguish strength and weakness in reasoning, or in other words exercise logic.
 * Must be sincere and a good person.

After Basri, classical Mujtahids like Al-Shirazi (d. 467/1083), Al-Ghazzali (d. 505/1111), Al-Amidi (d. 632/1234) would also develop various criterion with minor changes. Amidi also allowed less qualified Mujtahids who didn't meet these requirements to solve issues provided he has the tools of solution. From the declaration of these requirements of mujtahid onwards, legal scholars adopted these characteristics as being standard for any claimant of ijtihad. This allowed for mujtahids to openly discuss their particular views and reach a conclusion together. The interaction required by ijma allowed for mujtahids to circulate ideas and eventually merge to create particular Islamic schools of law (madhhabs). This consolidation of mujtahids into particular madhhabs prompted these groups to create their own distinct authoritative rules. These laws reduced issues of legal uncertainty that had been present when multiple mujtahids were working together with one another. Oftentimes, multiple rulings would be issued by jurists of the same legal school. Historical records show that throughout the tenth to nineteenth centuries, legal practitioners had consistently modified law using degrees of Ijtihad, making it flexible and adaptable to change. Eventually, there developed a legal system of authoritative rulings on which influential jurists agreed. However, by the 14th century, while influential jurists held that knowledgeable legal scholars should be allowed to engage in Ijtihad , some others began to argue that there were no longer any legal scholars capable of performing Ijtihad beyond a certain limit as the founders of the four mad'habs. Despite this dispute, many high-ranking jurists upheld the practice of Ijtihad in legal rulings.

Recent scholarship has largely adopted this view, concluding that Ijtihad was indispensable in Islamic legal theory. Rather than obstructing Ijtihad, the legal theory as well as its stipulated qualifications facilitated Ijtihad.

Shia
Shia Muslims understand the process of ijtihad as being the independent effort used to arrive at the rulings of sharia. Following the death of the Prophet and once they had determined the Imam as absent, ijtihad evolved into a practice of applying careful reason in order to uncover the knowledge of what Imams would have done in particular legal situations. The decisions the Imams would have made were explored through the application of the Qur'an, Sunnah, ijma and 'aql (reason). It was not until the end of the eighteenth century that the title of mujtahid became associated with the term faqih or one who is an expert in jurisprudence. From this point on religious courts began to increase in number and the ulama were transformed by Shia Islamic authorities into the new producer of ijtihad. Early Shiite theologians had denounced Sunni interpretative tools like Ijtihad and Qiyas ( analogical reasoning) citing reports from the Shi'i Imams. They held that Ijtihad was a deductive process based on personal conjecture to argue that it had no legal basis in the shari‘a (Islamic law). Therefore, until the 13th century, the concept of Ijtihad was denounced disparagingly by the Shi'i jurists, who wanted to construct a systematic and stable legal edifice that was devoid of any uncertainty. However, with the passage of time some Shia jurists sensed the need to respond to newer and novel circumstances.

According to Usuli scholars, Mujtahids existed continuously since the 16th century and employed Ijtihad to form new laws according to altering circumstances. From the late 18th century, Usuli jurists had advocated for appending 'Aql (intellect) as the fourth source of law. This enabled them to issue legal opinions based on societal needs. The Akhbari school rejected the idea of human intellect playing any role in legal reasoning. In order to produce perceptive mujtahids that could fulfill this important role, Usulis developed the principles of Shia jurisprudence (Usool) to provide a foundation for scholarly deduction of Islamic law. Shaykh Murtada Ansari and his successors developed the school of Shia law, dividing the legal decisions into four levels of certainty (qat), valid conjecture (zann), doubt (shakk), and erroneous conjecture (wahm). These rules allowed mujtahids to issue adjudications on any subject, that could be derived through this process of ijtihad, demonstrating responsibility to the Shia community. Furthermore, according to Shia Islamic Jurisprudence a believer of Islam is either a Mujtahid (one that expresses their own legal reasoning), or a Muqallid (one performing taqlid—following or imitating a Mujtahid) and a Muhtat ("a lay Shiite who does not follow anyone, yet acts on such precaution that assures him the fulfilment of his religious obligations"). Most Shia Muslims qualify as Muqallid, and therefore are very dependent on the rulings of the Mujtahids. Therefore, the Mujtahids must be well prepared to perform ijtihad, as the community of Muqallid are dependent on their rulings. Not only did Shia Muslims require:
 * Knowledge of the texts of the Qur'an and Sunnah
 * Justice in matters of public and personal life
 * Utmost piety
 * Understanding of the cases where Shia mujtahids reached consensus
 * Ability to exercise competence and authority

However, these scholars also depended on further training that could be received in religious centers called Hawza. At these centers they are taught the important subjects and technical knowledge a mujtahid need be proficient in such as:
 * Arabic grammar and literature
 * Logic
 * Extensive knowledge of the Qur'anic sciences and Hadith
 * Science of narrators
 * Principle of Jurisprudence
 * Comparative Jurisprudence

Therefore, Shia mujtahids remain revered throughout the Shia Islamic world. The relationship between the mujtahids and muqallids continues to address and solve the contemporary legal issues. Participating in ijtihad, however, has been cautioned by scholars for those not properly educated in interpretation of the Qu'ran. This is narrated by Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin, the great-grandson of Muhammad, when he cautioned Aban ibn abi-Ayyash, a fellow companion, saying, "Oh brother from 'Abd Qays, if the issue becomes clear to you, then accept it. Otherwise remain silent and defer to Allah because your interpretation from the truth will be as far from the Earth as the sky."

Female mujtahids
Women can be Mujtahid and throughout Islamic history there were well known female Islamic scholars and Mujtahids who played an important role in traditional Islamic discourse. Aisha the wife of Muhammad was a well-known hadith scholar and a Mujtahid. She was an assertive, intelligent woman as well as an eloquent speaker. According to Urwah Ibn Zubair, Aisha was the most knowledgeable in hadith and fiqh and surpassed everyone in knowledge of poetry and medicine. Al-Zuhri studied under the well-known woman jurist of the day, Amrah bint Abdul Rahman. She was one of the most knowledgeable people of hadith and was described as an "ocean of knowledge". When the judge of Madinah heard Amrah's message, he did not feel the need to get a male opinion, although Madinah was then housing the famous Seven Jurists. Islamic scholar Akram Nadwi published a 40-volume biographical collection of female Muslim scholars wherein more than 8,000 female scholars were detailed. Other famous female Muhadditha and jurists include Zainab bint Kamal, Fatima Al Batayahiyyah, Fatimah bint Muhammad al Samarqandi, etc. Fatima Al Fihiriyya founded the University of Qarawiyyin in Fez in 859, world's first academic university that offered a degree. Scholars such as Umm al-Darda used to sit and debate with male scholars in the mosque. She was a teacher of hadith and Fiqh and also lectured in the men's section. One of her students was a Caliph.

In Shiism, there have been dozens of women who have attained the rank in the modern history of Iran (for instance, Amina Bint al-Majlisi in the Safavid era, Bibi Khanum in the Qajar era, Lady Amin in the Pahlavi era, and Zohreh Sefati during the time of the Islamic Republic). There are diverging opinions as to whether a female mujtahid can be a marjaʻ or not. Zohreh Sefati and some male jurists believe a female mujtahida can become a marja‘ — in other words, they believe that believers perform taqlid (emulation) of a female mujtahid— but most male jurists believe a marjaʻ must be male.

title: Ijtihad


text:
Joe Williams

Joe Williams may refer to:

Music

 * Big Joe Williams (1903–1982), Delta blues singer
 * Joe Williams (jazz singer) (1918–1999), American jazz singer

Association football

 * Joe Williams (footballer, born 1873), English footballer
 * Joe Williams (footballer, born 1996), English footballer
 * Joe Williams (Irish footballer) (1907–1987)

Gridiron football

 * Joe Williams (back) (1915–1997), American football player
 * Joe Williams (guard) (1896–1949), American football guard for the Canton Bulldogs and the New York Giants
 * Joe Williams (defensive end) (born 1942), American football defensive end in Canada
 * Joe Williams (fullback) (1941–2015), American football player in Canada
 * Joe Williams (linebacker) (born 1965), American football linebacker
 * Joe Williams (running back, born 1947), American football running back
 * Joe Williams (running back, born 1993), American football running back

Other sports

 * Smokey Joe Williams (1886–1951), Negro leagues baseball pitcher
 * Joe Williams (basketball) (c.1934–2022), American basketball coach at Jacksonville, Furman, and Florida State universities
 * Joe Williams (wrestler) (born 1974), American amateur freestyle wrestler
 * Joe Williams (rugby league) (born 1983), Australian rugby league player for the Bulldogs National Rugby League team
 * Joe Williams (fighter) (born 1985), American mixed martial artist

Other

 * Joe Williams (trade unionist) (1871–1929), British trade union leader
 * Joe Williams (Cook Islands politician) (1934–2020), medical doctor and Prime Minister of the Cook Islands
 * Joe Williams (film critic) (1958–2015), critic for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
 * Joe Williams (judge) (born 1961), New Zealand jurist
 * Joe Williams (game developer) (born 1965), software developer

title: Joe Williams


text:
Cleveland Spiders

The Cleveland Spiders were an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The team competed at the major league level from 1887 to 1899, first for two seasons as a member of the now-defunct American Association (AA), followed by eleven seasons in the National League (NL). Early names for the team included the Forest Citys and Blues. The name Spiders itself emerged early in the team's inaugural NL season of 1889, owing to new black-and-gray uniforms and the skinny, long-limbed look of many players (thereby evoking the spider arachnid). National League Park served as the team's home for its first four seasons until the opening of League Park in 1891.

Amid seven straight winning seasons under manager Patsy Tebeau, the team finished second in the National League three times – in 1892, 1895, and 1896. While the Spiders never won the National League pennant, the club did win the 1895 Temple Cup, a two-team league championship playoff predating the World Series. The Spiders beat that year's pennant winner, the Baltimore Orioles (unrelated to the modern franchise), four games to one in a best-of-seven game series. Six Spiders players were later inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, including left fielder Jesse Burkett and pitcher Cy Young.

In 1899, owners Frank and Stanley Robison purchased a second team – the bankrupt St. Louis NL franchise – and sent all of the Spiders' top talent to that club, including future Hall-of-Famers Young, Burkett, and Bobby Wallace. The resulting Spiders roster finished the 1899 season 20–134, a record which remains the worst for a single season in major league history. The Spiders were subsequently one of four teams contracted by the National League that year. Partly in response to the Robison brothers' actions – which effectively ended the Spiders franchise – the practice of "syndicate ownership" was later banned.

Spiders outfielder Louis Sockalexis played for the team during its final three seasons and is often credited as the first Native American to play major league baseball. The Cleveland Guardians, major league successor to the Spiders in Cleveland, have long cited Sockalexis as the inspiration for their controversial former team name – "Indians" – though that claim is disputed.

History
The Spiders were the third professional baseball franchise based in Cleveland. The first team, Forest City, which played from 1870 through 1872, was initially an independent team before joining the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players for two seasons before disbanding. They were followed in 1879 by the city's first National League team, the Cleveland Blues, which folded after the 1884 season.

1887–1888
After the 1886 season, the Pittsburgh Alleghenys left the American Association (AA) to join the National League. The AA, then considered a major league, chose the Cleveland group headed by Frank Robison as an expansion team to begin play in 1887 over proposals from Kansas City and Detroit. Later, Robison's brother Stanley was added to the ownership group. Initially, the team was known as the Forest Citys, drawing on the city's nickname and the nickname that had been used on the city's two previous professional baseball teams. The nickname Blues was also used again in reference to the team uniforms. The Forest Citys were a weak team in their early years.

1889–1898
In 1889, they moved to the National League and became known as the Spiders, reportedly after comments from a team executive assessing the players. Frank H. Brunell, this team executive who also doubled as sportswriter for The Plain Dealer, noted the combination of the team's new black-and-gray uniforms together with the sight of several skinny, long-limbed players. He joked the team should be called "Spiders", and the name stuck. The team started to improve in 1891, largely due to the signing of future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young.

The Spiders had their first taste of success in 1892 when they finished 93–56 overall; winning the second half by three games over Boston with a 53–23 record. Other than standout second baseman Cupid Childs, the Spiders had an unremarkable offense. Their success in 1892 was built on pitching strength; Cy Young was the NL's most dominant hurler, and 22-year-old George Cuppy had an outstanding rookie year. Following the season, a "World's Championship Series" exhibition was played between Cleveland and the first-half winner Boston Beaneaters, but the Spiders could only muster one tie in six games.

In 1895, the Spiders again finished second, this time to the equally rough-and-tumble Baltimore Orioles. Young again led the league in wins, and speedy left fielder Jesse Burkett won the batting title with a .409 average. The Spiders won the Temple Cup, an 1890s postseason series between the first- and second-place teams in the NL. Amid fan rowdyism and garbage-throwing, the Spiders won four of five games against Baltimore, including two wins for Cy Young.

The 1895 championship was the high-water mark for the franchise. The following season, Baltimore and Cleveland again finished first and second in the NL, but in the battle for the 1896 Temple Cup, the second-place Spiders were swept in four games. In 1897, despite a winning record, the franchise finished fifth, a season highlighted by Young throwing the first of three career no-hitters on September 18. The Spiders again finished fifth in 1898.

1899 season
In 1899, the Spiders' owners, the Robison brothers, bought the St. Louis Browns out of bankruptcy and changed their name to the Perfectos. However, they kept the Spiders as well—a blatant conflict of interest. Believing the Perfectos would draw greater attendance in more densely populated St. Louis, the Robisons transferred most of the Cleveland stars, including future Baseball Hall of Famers Cy Young, Jesse Burkett, and Bobby Wallace, to St. Louis. They also shifted a large number of Cleveland home games to the road (for instance, the original Opening Day game was shifted to St. Louis).

With a decimated roster, the Spiders made a wretched showing. They finished with a dismal won-lost record of 20–134 (.130), the worst in MLB history, 84 games behind the pennant-winning Brooklyn Superbas and 35 games behind the next-to-last (11th) place Washington Senators. Their batting records were the worst in the league in runs, hits, doubles, triples, home runs, walks, stolen bases, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.

The Robisons announced after buying the Perfectos that they intended to run the Spiders as a "sideshow", and Cleveland fans apparently took them at their word. The Spiders' first 16 home games drew a total of 3,179 fans, or an average of 199 fans per game. Due to these meager attendance figures, the other 11 NL teams refused to come to League Park, as their cut of the revenue from ticket sales did not even begin to cover their hotel and travel expenses. The Spiders were thus forced to play 85 of their remaining 93 games on the road. Counting the large number of home games that had been shifted to the road earlier in the season, they only played 42 home games during the season, including only eight after July 1, and finished 9–33 (.214) at home and 11–101 (.098) on the road. Only 6,088 fans paid to attend Spiders home games in 1899, for a pitiful average of a mere 145 spectators per game in 9,000-seat League Park.

The 101 road losses is a major-league record that will never be threatened, as current scheduling practices have teams play a maximum of 81 away games (excluding one- or three-game playoffs). The team's longest winning streak of the season was two games, which they accomplished once: on May 20–21. Spiders opponents scored ten or more runs 49 times in 154 games. Pitchers Jim Hughey (4–30) and Charlie Knepper (4–22) tied for the team lead in wins.

The 1962 New York Mets, 40–120 (.250), and 2003 Detroit Tigers, 43–119 (.265), own the modern records in their respective leagues for the most losses, and thus draw frequent comparisons to the 1899 Spiders for futility.

Legacy
The Robisons' decision to effectively reduce the Spiders to minor league status, along with other intra-league raiding such as that conducted by the Dodgers and to a lesser extent the Pittsburgh Pirates, unwittingly helped pave the way to the National League's loss of its major league monopoly. The 12th-place Spiders were one of four teams contracted out of the National League at the end of the 1899 season (the others were the 11th-place Senators, the ninth-place Louisville Colonels and the bankrupt fourth-place Baltimore Orioles). The 1899 fiasco played a role in the major leagues passing a rule which barred one person from owning controlling interest in two clubs.

The Robisons sold the assets of the Spiders team to Charles Somers and John Kilfoyle in 1900. In 1900, the then-minor American League (previously the Western League) fielded a team called the Cleveland Lake Shores. In 1901, after the American League declared major league status, the team was called the Cleveland Blues, eventually the Cleveland Indians, and now the Cleveland Guardians.

The Cleveland Guardians have long claimed Spiders outfielder Louis Sockalexis as the inspiration for their controversial former team name – "Indians" – in use from 1915 to 2021. Sockalexis played three seasons for the Cleveland Spiders, from 1897 to 1899, and is often credited as the first Native American to play professional baseball at the major league level. During his time with the Spiders, the press often referred to the team as the Indians or "Tebeau's Indians". The Cleveland Guardians claim has been disputed, however, including in a 2012 Cleveland Scene essay titled "The Curse of Chief Wahoo", which argues the organization cited Sockalexis in part to justify use of the "Indians" name.

title: Cleveland Spiders