Is it possible for someone in our current era to attain the level of absolute ijtihad reached by the Four Imams? And how do you explain the disagreement of Ibn Taymiyyah and some contemporary scholars with the Imams on certain issues, and should their dissenting opinion be adopted or abandoned?

Ijtihad is the jurist’s exertion of his utmost effort in examining the Sharia evidence to ascertain the ruling on a matter. The mujtahid is required to be knowledgeable of the sources of rulings from the Qur’an and Sunnah, to know the abrogating and abrogated verses (nasikh and mansukh), consensus (ijma’), and analogical deduction (qiyas), to be able to prioritize evidence, to know grammar and language, and to possess a faculty of understanding. The door of ijtihad is open at all times and in all places for anyone who meets the conditions, and the earth is never devoid of someone upholding it. The disagreement of some scholars with the imams is based on evidence and ijtihad they possess, and one must follow that for which the evidence is stronger. One who errs in subsidiary matters is excused and rewarded for his ijtihad.