I want to know the answer to the following question:
What is ijtihad?
All the background I'm provided with is that "This scholarly process of "determining orthodoxy began with a question which the Muslim layman, called in that capacity mustaftī, presented to a jurisconsult, called mufti, soliciting from him a response, called fatwa, a legal opinion (the religious law of Islam covers civil as well as religious matters).". Is that enough to answer the question?
Answer: no