Benefit 63: Masā’il Al-Ijmā’ (issues of consensus)
18 December 2023 • 893 views
If there is a unanimous agreement in a subject matter, it is necessary to adhere to this ijmā’ and not to oppose it, because ijmā’ is a definitive proof.
Sheikh ’Uthaymīn raḥimahullāh said:
الإجماع يمنع من حدوث الخلاف، لأنه حجة.
“Ijmā’ prevents any disagreement from occurring, because it is a definitive proof.”
[Al-Uṣūl min ’ilm Al-Uṣūl]
The evidence for ijmā’ being a definitive proof is the statement of Allāh Almighty:
﴿وَمَنْ يُشَاقِقِ الرَّسُولَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ الْهُدَى وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ نُوَلِّهِ مَا تَوَلَّى وَنُصْلِهِ جَهَنَّمَ وَسَاءَتْ مَصِيرًا﴾
“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!” [Sūrah An-Nisā: 115]
The point of evidence:
the fact that Allāh threatened to punish those who follow other than the way of the believers (i.e. ijmā’) indicates the obligation to follow their way, and this is the evidence that imām Ash-Shafi’ē relied on to prove the authority of Ijmā’.
Ash-Shāfi’ē raḥimahullāh said:
وأمرُ رسول الله ﷺ بلزوم جماعة المسلمين مما يحتج به من أن إجماع المسلمين - إن شاء الله - لازم.
“The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ's order to adhere to the Muslim community is evidence that the ijmā’ of the Muslims is binding.” [Ar-Risālah p. 403]
NOTE: It is important to firstly verify and make sure that the ijmā’ is valid, and we must also distinguish between the definitive and speculative ijmā’ as well as the explicit ijmā’ that is agreed upon and the silent ijmā’ that is not agreed upon, as imām Aḥmad raḥimahullāh alluded to when he said:
«منْ ادَّعى الإجماعَ فهو كاذبٌ، لعلَّ الناسَ اختلفوا»
“Whoever claims consensus is a liar. Perhaps people disagreed.”
As-Sarkhasi raḥimahullāh said:
الإجماع موجب للعلم قطعاً بمنزلة النص، فكما لا يجوز ترك العمل بالنص باعتبار رأي يعترض له: لا يجوز مخالفة الإجماع برأي يعترض له بعدما انعقد الإجماع بدليله.
“Ijmā’ necessitates knowledge in the absolute sense, the same way as textual evidence. And just as it is impermissible to leave off implementing textual evidence due to a contradictory opinion, it is likewise impermissible to oppose ijmā’ due to a contradictory opinion that goes against it ONCE THE IJMĀ’ IS ESTABLISHED WITH ITS EVIDENCE.” [Uṣūl As-Sarkhasi (1/308)]