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Ijma (, ) is an Arabic term referring to the consensus or agreement of the Islamic community on a point of Islamic law. Sunni Muslims regard it as one of the secondary sources of Sharia, after the Qur'an, and the Sunnah. Exactly what group should represent the Muslim community in reaching the consensus is not agreed on by the various schools of Islamic jurisprudence. Some believe it should be the Sahaba (the first generation of Muslims) only; others the consensus of the Salaf (the first three generations of Muslims); or the consensus of , the Ulema of the Muslim world, i.e. scholarly consensus; or the consensus of all the Muslim world, both scholars and lay people. The opposite of Ijma (i.e., lack of consensus on a point of Islamic law) is called ikhtilaf.
"And whoever defies the Messenger after guidance has become clear to them and follows a path other than that of the believers, We will let them pursue what they have chosen, then burn them in Hell—what an evil end!"which mentions the word 'Sabeelil Mu'mineen' (the way of those of faith). Imam Al-Shafi'i told the old man this verse was a proof for Ijma from the Quran and he was satisfied.
Another proof of Ijma from the Quran is in Surah Luqman ( 31:15) in which Allah mentions
"and follow the way of those who turn to Me in devotion"Another proof of Ijma in the Quran is in Sura an-Nisa ( 4:83) in which Allah mentions
"And when they hear news of security or fear, they publicize it. Had they referred it to the Messenger or their authorities, those with sound judgment among them would have validated it. Had it not been for Allah’s grace and mercy, you would have followed Satan—except for a few."Some scholars have the opinion that Surah Al Fatihah verse 1:6 and 1:7 which Muslims read at least 17 times a day (in their 5 Salah) is also an indirect support of Ijma.
Similar hadiths are often cited as a proof for the validity of Ijma as well.
There are differing views over who is considered a part of this consensus, whether "the consensus is needed only among the scholars of a particular school, or legists, or legists of an early era, or the Companions, or scholars in general, or the entire Muslim community."See F. Ziadeh, Lawyers and the rule of law, and liberalism in modern Egypt 146-47 (1968) supra note 4, at 118see generally: K. Faruki, ISLAMIC JURISPRUDENCE 68 (1962)D. Mullah & M. Hidadjatullah, Principles of Mahomedan Law xxii (16th ed. 1968)Aqil Ahmad, A Text Book of Mohammadan Law 15 (4th rev. ed. 1966), supra note 22, at 17Aziz Ahmad, Islamic Law in Theory and Practice 2 (1956), Supra note 20, at 43
Malik ibn Anas held the view that the religiously binding consensus was only the consensus of Muhammad's Sahaba and the direct successors of those companions in the city of Medina.Muhammad Muslehuddin, "Philosophy of Islamic Law and Orientalists," Kazi Publications, 1985, p. 146
According to Iraqi people academic Majid Khadduri, Al-Shafi'i held the view that religiously binding consensus had to include all of the Muslim community in every part of the world, both the religiously learned and the layman.Majid Khadduri, Introduction to Al-Shafi'i's al-Risala, pg.33Mansoor Moaddel, Islamic Modernism, Nationalism, and Fundamentalism: Episode and Discourse, pg. 32. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005. Thus, if even one individual out of millions would hold a differing view, then consensus would not have been reached. In an attempt to define consensus in a form which was more likely to ever occur, Al-Ghazali expanding on al-Shafi'i's definition to define consensus as including all of the Muslim community in regard to religious principles and restricting the meaning to only the religiously learned in regard to finer details.Majid Khadduri, Introduction to Al-Shafi'i's al-Risala, pg.38-39
Abu Hanifa, Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Dawud al-Zahiri, on the other hand, considered this consensus to only include the companions of Muhammad, excluding all generations which followed them, in Medina and elsewhere.Muhammad Muslehuddin, "Philosophy of Islamic Law and Orientalists," Kazi Publications, 1985, p. 81Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq, "The Doctrine of Ijma: Is there a consensus?," June 2006
Views within Sunni Islam branched off even further in later generations, with Abu Bakr Al Jassas, a hanafi scholar, defining even a simple majority view as constituting consensus and Ibn Taymiyyah restricting consensus to the view of the religiously learned only. Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari's position was not entirely clear, as modern scholarship has attributed to him both the view that consensus means a simple majority, and that it means only the consensus of the companions of Muhammad.Devin J. Stewart, "Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari's al-Bayan 'an Usul al-Ahkam and the Genre of Usul al-Fiqh in Ninth Century Baghdad," pg. 339. Taken from Abbasid Studies: Occasional Papers of the School of Abbasid Studies, Cambridge, 6–10 January 2002. Edited by James Montgomery. Leuven: Peeters Publishers and the Department of Oriental Studies, 2004.
According to Ahmad Hasan, the majority view is split between two possibilities: that religiously binding consensus is the consensus of the entire Muslim community, or that religiously binding consensus is just the consensus of the religiously learned.Ahmad Hasan, "The Doctrine of Ijma': A Study of the Juridical Principle of Consensus," New Delhi, India: Kitab Bhaban, 2003, pg.81 The names of two kinds of consensus are:
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