It is an established fact that the role of Ijtihad in the past Muslim societies has been crucial. In the present scenario of global world, the importance of this source of law cannot be denied. It has been observed that the process of globalization has affected the individual and social aspects of the lives of the Muslims. The paper after tracing the history and development of Ijtihad describes its role offered by Shatibi. He has offered some objective which may be considered in the making of Ijtahad. The paper thus advocates that legal maxims and objectives of Shariah offered by Shatibi .be taken into consideration for the development of collective Ijtihad.