Ijma’اإلجماع

Lesson Ten

Chapter 8

Introduction

Unlike Quran and Sunnah, ijma does not partake of divine revelationIjma as a doctrine is basically a “binding” rational proofConclusive ijma , as defined by the ulama of usool, demands an absolute and universal consensus of the scholars of the ummahThere is no room for اختالف (disagreement) within the concept of ijmaThe gap between the theory and practice of ijma is a striking feature of this doctrineThe notion of universal consensus probably was inspired by tawheed and political unity of the ummah

The Shari'ah has often been considered as `a diversity within unity'. This is true in a general sense, in that there is unity to the essentials and in the broad outlines of the ahkam. But the same cannot be said of the detailed rulings of the jurists.

To expect universal consensus on ijtihadi matters is totally unrealistic

The reason for the gap between the theory and practice is due to the difficulty in the implementation of its theoretical requirements in practice, to eliminate all levels of اختالف

Only the ijma of the companions has been generally upheld due to their status.

Definition and Value of Ijma literally, means to determine and to االجماعagree upon something, or an ‘unanimous agreement’Ijma is the unanimous agreement of the mujtahidun of any period following the demise of the Prophet (SAW) on any matter‘any matter’ implies شرعى (juridical), ‘عقلى (intellectual), ‘عرفى(customary) and لغوى (linguistic) matters matters (perceptible to senses) fall حسىbeyond the scope of IjmaAccording to the majority opinion, اعتقاديات (dogmatic), fall within the scope of IjmaMatters of practical type; for example agreement of the companions about political, administrative, governance and the like do not constitute ijmaIjma’ on a shar’i ruling has a quality of permanence and its validity is not confined by a time limit

The essence of االجماع lies in the natural growth of ideas, it begins with the personal of a jurist and ends in universal اجتهادacceptance of a particular opinion over a period of time

plays a crucial role in the development ’االجماعof Shari’ah. The existing body of fiqh is a product of ijtihad and ijma

ensures the correct interpretation of ’االجماعthe Quran, the faithful understanding of the Sunnah and legitimate use of ijtihad removes uncertainty and doubt from ’االجماعan interpretation and makes it infallible turns rules of speculative nature into ’االجماعdefinite and binding ones represents an authority in its own ’االجماعright even if its roots in primary sources are lost

The Essential Requirements of االجماع

 Plurality of mujtahidun available at the time when the issue is encountered.

According to the majority of ‘ulama, اتفاق (unanimity) of mujtahidun is a prerequisite of ijma, on the basis, that mujtahidun represent the community

The minority opinion attributed to Abu Bakr al-Baqillani and others is that ijma includes the consensus of both laymen and mijtahidun , on the basis, that it is a grace of Allah bestowed on the whole community

The presence of dissenting معارضview excludes the possibility of ijma’

The agreement of the mujtahidun must be demonstrated by their expressed opinion, verbal or in writing such as by giving a fatwa in either of these forms, or it may be actual, when, for example, a judge adjudicates the issue in question;

According to the minority opinion, ijma’ may be concluded by a majority (Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Abu Bakr al-Razi, one view of Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Shah Wali Allah).

Ijma must fulfill these three conditions:1. Mujtahidun must qualify as upright individuals

with minimum requirement of admissibility as witness in the courts of justice

2. Constituents of ijma are clear of Bid’ah and heresy

3. Constituents of ijma have required specialized knowledge on the issue

The following conditions are subject to disagreement among the ‘ulama:

1. Only mujtahidun among the Companions qualify

2. Constituents of ijma belong to the family of the Prophet (SAW)

3. Participants of ijma have all passed away4. Participants should be residents of Medina5. Ijma does not proceed on a matter on which

earlier ‘ulama (as-Salaf) were in disagreement, as held by some Shafi’ees and Ahl al-Hadith. (This is rejected by jumhoor)

When ijma’ fulfills its defined requirements, it is binding and not open to naskh

According to al-Ghazali, it is enough that agreement should have taken place, even if only for an instant

The Proof ( االجماع of Ijma (حجية

The ‘ulama’ as a whole maintained the impression that the textual evidence in support of ijma does not amount to conclusive proof

Al-Ghazali and al-Amidi are of the view that when compared to the Quran, the Sunnah provides stronger argument in favor of ijma

Ijma in QuranO ye who believe! obey Allah, and obey the

Messenger, and those charged with authority among you. if ye differ In anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe In Allah and the Last Day: that is best, and Most suitable for final determination. Al-NIsa, 4:59

أ*ول)ي و, ول, س* الر/ ط)يع*واأ, و, الل/ه, ط)يع*وا

أ, ن*وا ,م, آ ال/ذ)ين, ا ي6ه,, أ ي,ا

ن7ك*م7 م) ر) م7, األ7

According to al-Fakhr al-razi, , (ر م7

, األ7 lends أ*ول)يsupport to the infallibility of ijma as Allah would not command obedience to anyone who is liable to errors.

According to a commentary attributed to ibn Abbas ر) م7, األ7 أ*ول)ي refers to the ulama, other ulama refer أ*ول)ير) م7, The zahir of text االمراء to be reference to األ7

includes both in their respective sphere

The most frequently quoted ayah in support of ijma is

if anyone contends with the Messenger Even after guidance has been plainly conveyed to him, and follows a path other than that becoming to believers of Faith, we shall leave Him In the path He has chosen, and land Him In Hell,- what an evil refuge! al-Nisa (4:115)

ي,ت/ب)ع7 و, د,ى ال7ه* ل,ه* ت,ب,ي/ن, ا م, ب,ع7د) م)ن7 ول, س* الر/ اق)ق) ي*ش, و,م,ن7اء,ت7 و,س, ن/م, ه, ج, ل)ه) ن*ص7 و, ت,و,ل/ى ا م, لEه) ن*و, ن)ين, ؤ7م) ال7م* ب)يل) س, غ,ي7ر,ا Iير م,ص)

Commentators observe “the way of the believers” refers to consensus, and departure from that is prohibited. Al-Shafi’i concluded that 4:115 provides clear authority of ijma and following any other way is Haram

According to al-Ghazali the above ayahs and others in the Quran are zawahir and none of them amounts to a clear nass on ijma and above ayah is warning against disobedience to Prophet SAW and hostility against the believers

Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti and al-Shawkani concluded that ‘Following the path other than that of believers” means abandoning Islam and their conclusion is in line with conclusion of al-Ghazali

Al-Shawkani added that occasion of revelation for this ayah relates to apostasy and the ‘other way’ refers to choosing another religion in favor of Islam and it does not warrant for authority of ijma

al-Amidi concluded that this ayah gives zanni (probabilistic) evidence and does not impart positive knowledge. If we assume that ijma is a decisive proof then establishing its authority on speculative proof is not enough

The Sunnah on Ijma

  “My community shall never agree on dalalah (an error)” This is the most frequently quoted Hadith in support of ijma. in the Hadeeth does not mean ضاللة‘disbelief and heresy, it only means an error or erroneous conduct

“Allah will not let my community agree upon an error”

I beseeched Almighty Allah not to bring my community to the point of agreeing on ”and He granted me this ضاللة“Those who seek the joy of residing in Paradise will follow the community, for Satan can chase an individual but he stands away from two people”

The Sunnah on Ijma

“The hand of Allah is with the community and it is not endangered by isolated opposition”“A group of my ummah shall continue to remain on the right path. They will be the dominant force and will not be harmed by the opposition and opponents”

al-Ghazali pointed out that the first Hadith is not mutawatir and it is not an absolute authority like the Quran, but both al-Ghazali and al Amidi concluded that main content of this Hadith and number of other ahad ahadith quoted above convey positive knowledge that the infallibility of the ummah is sustained by their collective weight.

Shi’ah Imamiyyah quote last Hadith “A group of my ummah…” in support of their doctrine of ijma of ahl al-bayt.

The Sunnah on Ijma

The word أمة or جماعة in ahadith could mean:

The overwhelming majority of Muslims

The scholars of the communityOnly the companionsThe whole of the Muslim community

(This is the view of al-Shafi’i)

The Sunnah on Ijma االجماع as a doctrine of jurisprudence did not

exist in the early periodThe jurists could not determine a definite

meaning of ummah or jama’ahThe ahadeeth which convey a general meaning

should not be restricted to a particular point of view

In conclusion, based upon the rational proof, the consensus of all mujtahidun on a particular ruling is a sure indication that the word of truth has prevailed over their differences; due to the strength of evidence from the nass.

Even in the absence of a nass, ijtihad observes both the letter and spirit of sources that mujtahid has mastered and ijtihad is always founded on sound authority in the first place

The feasibility of IjmaA number of ‘ulama, including Mu’tazili leader,

Ibrahim al-Nazzam and some shi’i ‘ulama have held that ijma’ in the way defined by the jumhur of ‘ulama is not feasible.

They have listed the following objections:

The difficulties include:

The mujtahidun normally are located in distant places and obtaining a positive knowledge of consensus is not feasible

Difficulty in distinguishing a mujtahid from non mujtahid with certainty

There is no guarantee that mujtahid will not change his given opinion before ijma is reached

IT is mainly due to these reasons al-Shafi’i confines ijma to the obligatory duties alone as he considers that ijma on other matters is not realistic proposition

Due to the feasibility concern, Zahiris, Kharijites and Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal , confine ijma to consensus of the companions alone

Imam Malik confines ijma’ to the people of Madina

Shi’ah Imamiyyah recognize only the agreement of ahl al-bayt

According to a report, Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal quoted his father,”It is not more than a lie for any man to claim the existence of ijma. Whoever claims ijma is telling a lie”

The jumhur of ‘ulama claim that ijma is possible and has occurred in the past

The agreement of the Companions (ijma) consisted of the agreement of the learned among them who were present at the time of the issue, and the ruling was a collective decision of the shurah

After the companions, no collective ijma is known to have taken place on any juridical matter

Shaykh al-Khudari addressed some of the issues regarding ijma’ and observed: “At the time of first two caliphs number of mujtahidun were relatively small and could be easily identified. After that period, ijma became difficult as mujtahid companions began to reside in distant places and matters were further complicated due to political controversies and dissension that became prevalent. Ijma’ in this period was feasible in principle but did not take place.”

The Basis (Sanad) of Ijma

The sanad of ijma is the shari evidence used by mujtahidun as a basis of consensus

According to the majority of ‘ulama, ijma’ needs to have a sanad

There is disagreement among the ‘ulama on whether ijma can be based on qiyas or maslahah

1. First view Qiyas is subject to variety of doubts The ‘ulama do not agree on the authority of Qiyas as

a proof Companions did not have a consensus on anything

unless there was a proof from Quran or Sunnah

2. Second view Ijma can be based on qiyas of all varieties as qiyas

is an analogy to nass

3. Third view If illah (effective cause) of qiyas is clearly stated in

nass it can be used for ijma. When illah is hidden qiyas cannot be used as basis for ijma

Abu Zahrah considers third opinion about qiyas to be sound opinion as instances could be quoted for ijma based on qiyas. For an example, father is entitled to guardianship over the person and property of his minor child. By ijma this right is also established for grandfather based on qiyas between father and grandfather

Examples of ijma based on maslah are:

The collection of the Quran in a single volume

The second adhan on Friday

The decision to not distribute land in Iraq among the conquerors

When subsequent generations of ‘ulama refer to ijma, it is generally assumed that ijma is based on a nass without referring to evidence after ascertaining the existence of ijma, otherwise ijma cannot be a proof on its own right

The Transmission of IjmaIjma is divided into two types from the

perspective of the reliability of the transmission:

محصل(acquired)منقول (transmitted)MuhassalThis is direct participation of a mujtahid in the

consensus without any transmittersManqulThis is established through reports which may be

ahad or mutawatir

Al-Ghazali points out that ahad report of ijma is not a sufficient proof as ijma is a decisive proof and ahad reports makes it speculative evidence

al-Amidi explains that number of Shafi’i, Hanafi and Hanbali ulema validate ahad report of ijma to be a valid proof

Another group of Hanafi and Shafi’i ulema do not consider ahad report of ijma to be a valid proof

All ulema agree that even when the text (matan) is definitive, ahad report makes it speculative proof

With the exception of ijma of companions, no other ijma is known to be mutawatir

Reform proposals Modern critics consider that according to the classical

definition of ijma, it fails to relate to the search for solutions to the problems of community in these times

Shah Wali Allah Dihlawi (d. 1176/1762) tried to bring ijma closer to reality by bringing ‘relativity’ in the concept of ijma

He states that ijma means consensus of limited number of mujtahidun and ijma was never meant to be a universal agreement as it is plainly impossible to achieve

Universal agreement neither happened in the past nor could it conceivably happen in the future

Ijma is consensus of ulema and men of authority in different towns and localities and it can be held anywhere and any time

Ijma of companions in Makkah and Medina was a relative ijma not a universal agreement

Ahadith used as proof for ijma are meant for political unity of ummah and integrity of the Shariah, they did not envisage ijma

The late Shaykh of al-Azhar, Muhmud Shaltut, observes that ijma is either absence of disagreement or consensus of majority, classical definition if ijma is a theoretical proposition that is never expressed in reality

Shaltut is not opposed to the idea of institutionalization of ijma provided that it does not violate the freedom of opinion. He also observed that realization of maslahah through consensus is the objective of ijma and maslahah is bound to vary according to circumstances of time and place. Due to change in circumstances, ulema should be able to review previous ijma and if only way to realize the maslahah is new ijma, this will nullify and replace previous ijma and will constitute a binding authority

Badran proposes ijma to be consensus of ulu al-amr or of ummah, on a ruling that is not found in the textual sources and may be founded on ra’y, for the sake of maslahah. Such an ijma may be concluded on the face of opposition without consensus of ulu al-amr. In support of his view, he refers to election of Abu Bakr despite the opposition of Ali and return of Caliph Umar from his trip to Syria when he heard of the spread of cholera

Reform proposals

Conclusion

Under classical definitions, ijma and ijtihad , were subjected to conditions that virtually consigned them to realm of utopia

Unreality of these formations is reflected in modern times in the experience of Muslim nations, such as introduction of some reforms in marriage and divorce areas through novel interpretation of Quran. These reforms may rightly be regarded as cases of ijtihad, but none of these reforms make any mention of ijtihad and ijma, reflecting a sad reality

Classical defections might have served the purpose of discouraging excessive diversity which was felt to threaten the very existence and integrity of shariah