The Third Source of Islamic Jurisprudence
The third source of Islamic jurisprudence is Ijma. The literal meaning of Ijma is to agree on something; thus, Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran:
فَاَجْمِعُوا أمْرَکُمْ شُرَکَاءَ کُمْ.
“You decide your matter and gather your partners.”
Definition of Ijam
In the terminology of the jurists, consensus refers to the agreement of the learned community of the Islamic Ummah on a matter.
As stated in the books of Usul:
وَھُو اِتِّفَاقُ أھْلِ الْحِلِّ وَالْعَقْدِ مِنْ أُمَّةِ مُحَمَّدٍ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم عَلٰی أمْرٍ مِنَ الأُمُوْرِ.
“The name of consensus in any matter of the people of the Ummah of Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) is consensus.”
The majority of scholars have defined consensus in these words:
”اِتِّفَاقُ الْمُجْتَھِدِیْنَ مِنْ أمَّةِ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّی اللہُ عَلَیْہِ وَسَلَّمَ بَعْدَ وَفَاتِہ فِیْ عَصْرٍ مِنَ الْعُصُوْرِ عَلٰی حُکْمٍ شَرْعِیٍ․
“Ijma is the consensus of the mujtahids of the Ummah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) on a religious ruling at any time after the death of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).”
Definition of Ijma by Mahmud Ahmad Ghazi
Dr. Mahmud Ahmad Ghazi (1950-2010) has given a comprehensive definition of Ijma;
Thus he says:
“Ijma means that the jurists and mujtahids of the Ummah should consider and discuss in detail a new issue of jurisprudence and Shariah nature, independently, i.e. without any government, official or external influence, in the light of arguments alone, and find a solution to it in the light of the arguments of the Quran and Sunnah. Then, when they reach a unanimous conclusion through their mutual discussion, that unanimous conclusion and decision will be called Ijma.”
Ijma in Prophet’s life
There is no evidence of Ijma during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) because the blessed personality of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was present among the people and he was the only one to be consulted in any issue.
Dr . Hamidullah Writes
As Dr. Hamidullah (1908-2002) writes:
“There was no need for this in the Prophetic era; because if any question arose, people would immediately refer to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would give a decision that was final and final. There was no question of agreeing on anything by consulting among themselves.”
However, after the death of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the foundation of consensus was laid in the era of the Companions. Just as all jurists believe that consensus is the proof of Sharia and the primary source of Sharia, similarly, everyone agrees on the consensus of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) and all consider it obligatory to act upon it. And if the sayings of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) are different, they would adopt the one they like; but the sayings of the Tabi’een and the followers of the Tabi’een were not bound by this principle.
Needs of Ijma
The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) were the first to realize this need; therefore, for this purpose, during the caliphate of Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), the prominent Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) were prevented from going out; so that they could be used to resolve the problems that arose, and whatever they all agreed upon would be considered the consensus of the Ummah.
Examples of consensus in the era of the companions
Indeed, many examples of consensus can be given in the era of the Companions:
(1) For example, the Companions decided that if a person denies Zakat, he will be considered as if a person denies prayer, and the one who denies prayer is outside the circle of Islam. Therefore, the one who denies Zakat will also be considered outside the circle of Islam. The Companions, led by Sayyiduna Siddiq Akbar, waged jihad against those who denied Zakat. Initially, some of the Companions hesitated to understand how to put prayer and Zakat on the same level and how to consider disobeying a single partial commandment as being equal to denying the entire Sharia; but Sayyiduna Siddiq Akbar swore and said, “By God, I will not make any distinction between prayer and Zakat, and I will fight with whoever makes this distinction, until my life is lost.”
(2) Similarly, Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) declared the conquered lands of Syria and Iraq as waqf instead of distributing them among the army, and there was consensus among the companions on this (25). The evidence for this was that the lands should be kept with their original inhabitants and tribute should be levied on them; so that the Muslims would have an income and the treasury would be strengthened, which would result in the expenses of the soldiers, government employees, the needy and other welfare works could be carried out.
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(3) After the martyrdom of a large number of reciters in the Yamama incident, fearing that the Quran would be lost if the reciters continued to be martyred, Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) insisted on Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) to compile the Quran in the form of a Mushaf, and all the companions agreed with this opinion, and thus, with this consensus of the companions, the compilation of the Holy Quran took place.
(4) The hand of the one who steals for the third time will not be cut off. There was a consensus of all the companions on this statement of Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).
(5) Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) issued the order regarding the 20th Taraweeh with the consensus of the senior companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and with their regular consultation.
The validity of consensus in religion is based on three things
(1) The first basis of consensus is that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) used to use ijtihad in the issues that arose. Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to gather the Companions (may Allah be pleased with him) in general political matters and seek their advice. When all the people agreed on a matter, he would make it part of the law and if there was a difference, he would side with the majority.
(2) The second basis of consensus is that during the period of ijtihad, every Imam tried not to utter any rare statement that was against the jurists among them; so that his way of thinking would not be considered foreign; therefore, all the Imams strictly adhered to the consensus of their region.
(3) The third basis of consensus is the evidence that proves the validity of consensus. For example, this saying of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “My nation will not gather together on error” meaning, my nation will not gather together on error.
Similarly, in a similar vein, it is stated: “Whatever the Muslims consider to be good is good in the sight of Allah.”
“Whatever the Muslims consider to be good is good in the sight of Allah.”
Level of Ijma
Regarding the authority of consensus, the jurists have classified which consensus will be of what kind; thus, they have divided it into three levels.
(1) The highest level is the consensus of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all). This has the status of a mutawatir hadith and a definitive proof.
(2) The second level is the consensus of the followers, which is held on a non-ijtihad issue. This hadith has the status of a famous hadith.
(3) The third level of consensus is that which has been reached in an ijtihad issue. It is presumed to be the same as the kababer wahid
.
Example of Ijma in Modern Era
A clear example of consensus in the modern era is the issue of the finality of the Prophet hood. On which all scholars and jurists have reached consensus. It is necessary that our scholars and jurists apply this principle to the challenges facing Islam in the modern era and guide the Ummah in the right direction.
