Ijmaa’ (consensus) Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakātuh Alhumdulillah Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: In linguistic terms, ijmaa‘ means resolve and agreement. In shar‘i terms, it means the agreement of the mujtahids of this ummah after the death of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) on a shar‘i ruling. By saying “agreement” we exclude differences of opinion; if there is a difference of opinion, even from one person, then we cannot say that there is ijmaa‘. By saying “the mujtahids” we exclude the common folk and those who follow or imitate scholars; it does not matter whether they agree or disagree. By saying “this ummah” we exclude the consensus of others, which carries no weight. By saying “after the death of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)” we exclude their agreement at the time of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him); ijmaa‘ or consensus at that time does not count as evidence, because evidence is established by the Sunnah of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), whether in word or deed or by approval. Hence if a Sahaabi says “We used to do” or that they (i.e., people) used to do such and such at the time of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), this is indicative of the approval of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), according to consensus. By saying “on a shar‘i ruling”, we exclude their agreement on a rational or human ruling, which has nothing to do with the matter under discussion, because we are talking about looking for ijmaa‘ as one of the kinds of shar‘i evidence. Ijmaa‘ counts as evidence on the basis of a number of pieces of evidence, including the following: 1. The verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “Thus We have made you (Muslims), a Wasat (just) (and the best) nation, that you be witnesses over mankind” [al-Baqarah 2:143]. The words “witnesses over mankind” include testifying about their deeds and judging their deeds, and the words of the witness may be accepted. 2. The verse in which Allah, says (interpretation of the meaning): “(And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves” [an-Nisa’ 4:59] indicate that whatever they agreed upon is sound and correct. 3. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “My ummah will not unanimously agree on misguidance.” 4. We say: If the ummah unanimously agrees on something, it must be either true or false. If it is true, then it is proof. If it is false, how can this ummah, which is the dearest of nations to Allah since the time of its Prophet until the onset of the Hour, agree on something false with which Allah is not pleased? This is quite impossible. Al-Usool min ‘Ilm al-Usool, 62-64
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 20:33:33 +0000
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