Ijma

In Islamic jurisprudence, *ijma* (Arabic for "consensus") refers to the agreement of the Muslim community on a matter of law. For Sunni Muslims, it ranks as a secondary source of Sharia, coming after the Qur’an and the Sunnah. When consensus is lacking on a legal point, the situation is known as *ikhtilaf*.

There is no single agreed‑upon definition of which group constitutes the community for the purpose of reaching *ijma*. Some schools hold that only the *Sahaba*—the first generation of Muslims—count. Others extend it to the *Salaf* (the first three generations), to Islamic jurists and scholars alone (scholarly consensus), or to the entire Muslim world, including both scholars and laypeople.

In classical theory, *ijma* could elevate a ruling based on probable evidence to absolute certainty. This doctrine drew authority from several hadiths stating that the Islamic community could never collectively agree on an error. Technically, it was defined as the unanimous agreement of all competent jurists in a given generation, acting as representatives of the community. In practice, however, obtaining and verifying such universal agreement proved so difficult that *ijma* had little impact on legal development. A more pragmatic form emerged: consulting the works of prominent jurists to confirm a ruling, thereby closing it to further debate. Cases settled by *ijma* account for less than one percent of classical jurisprudence.

Proofs for the validity of *ijma* are found in both the Qur’an and hadith. Imam Al‑Shafi‘i, when asked for Qur’anic evidence, recited the entire text three times and identified a verse in Sura An‑Nisa (4:115) that warns against following “a path other than that of the believers.” He considered this a clear proof. Other Qur’anic references include Surah Luqman (31:15), which instructs believers to “follow the way of those who turn to Me in devotion,” and Sura An‑Nisa (4:83), which praises referring matters to “the Messenger or their authorities” for sound judgment. Some scholars also see indirect support in Surah Al‑Fatihah (1:6–7), recited at least seventeen times daily in the five prayers.

The primary hadith cited for *ijma* states that “Allah will ensure my ummah will never collude en‑masse upon error.” This appears in the collections of Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, Musnad Ahmad, and Darimi. Sunni scholars argue that human society cannot mistakenly agree that a statement was made, and that the community’s consensus on its own inability to agree on an error authenticates the hadith itself.

Sunni views on who constitutes the consensus have varied widely. Malik ibn Anas held that only the consensus of Muhammad’s companions and their immediate successors in Medina was binding. According to Iraqi academic Majid Khadduri, Al‑Shafi‘i believed consensus must include all Muslims everywhere—both learned and lay—so that a single dissenter would prevent it. Al‑Ghazali later expanded this definition, applying it to the whole community on religious principles but restricting it to scholars on finer details. Abu Hanifa, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and Dawud al‑Zahiri limited consensus to the companions alone, excluding later generations. Later scholars diverged further: Abu Bakr Al‑Jassas, a Hanafi, considered even a simple majority as consensus, while Ibn Taymiyyah confined it to the religiously learned. Muhammad ibn Jarir al‑Tabari’s position remains unclear, with modern scholarship attributing to him both the majority view and the companions‑only view. According to Ahmad Hasan, the majority opinion is split between two possibilities: that *ijma* means the consensus of the companions, or that it means the consensus of scholars in general.