Ijma

Ijma is the consensus of qualified Muslim scholars on a question of Islamic law, recognized in Islamic jurisprudence as a source of legal authority.

Usul al-fiqh: Usul al-fiqh is the discipline that studies the sources and methods of Islamic jurisprudence. It provides the framework in which jurists define ijma and assess its legal force.
Sahabah: The Sahabah were the companions of the Prophet Muhammad who encountered and transmitted his teachings. Early jurists often gave particular weight to agreement among the Prophet’s companions.
Quran: The Quran is Islam’s central scripture, regarded by Muslims as revelation to Muhammad. Unlike scholarly consensus, the Quran is a revealed source rather than a juristic conclusion.
Ikhtilaf: Ikhtilaf is disagreement among Muslim scholars on questions of law or doctrine. It is the counterpart to consensus and has persisted across Islamic legal schools.
Mujtahid: A mujtahid is a jurist qualified to derive legal rulings through independent reasoning. Ijma is classically attributed to qualified jurists, especially mujtahids.
Al-Shafi'i: Al-Shafi'i was a ninth-century Muslim jurist who systematized legal reasoning and the theory of Islamic law. His legal theory helped define the place of consensus among authoritative sources.
Sunnah: The Sunnah is the normative example of Muhammad, preserved chiefly through reports about his words and actions. Ijma draws authority from scholarly agreement, while the Sunnah derives from prophetic precedent.
Madhhab: A madhhab is a school of Islamic jurisprudence with its own interpretive methods and legal tradition. Schools differ in how they define, prove, and apply ijma.
Qiyas: Qiyas is the derivation of a ruling for a new case by analogy with an established ruling. Jurists distinguish consensus from qiyas, another method used to derive legal rulings.
Al-Risala: Al-Risala is a foundational work by al-Shafi'i on Islamic legal methodology. It presents an influential early account of consensus and its relationship to revelation.

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