The Concept of
Source: Fatawa Ameen Puri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameen Puri
Question:
What is said about the consensus (ijmaʿ) of the Ummah?
Answer:
When the Companions (رضي الله عنهم) or later the scholars of truth agree upon a legal ruling, it is the truth and acting upon it is obligatory, because Allah ﷻ has safeguarded the Ummah from collectively agreeing upon misguidance.
The consensus of the Ummah is a ḥujjah (binding proof). Any ruling upon which the scholars and jurists of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamāʿah agree becomes a Sharʿī ruling. The consensus (ijmaʿ) of the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ is infallible and free from error; it is impossible for the scholars of truth in any era to unanimously agree upon misguidance. The one who denies certain and established ijmaʿ has the same ruling as the one who denies an explicit text of the Qur’ān or Sunnah.
❀ Allah ﷻ says:
﴿وَمَنْ يُشَاقِقِ الرَّسُولَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ الْهُدَىٰ وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ نُوَلِّهِ مَا تَوَلَّىٰ وَنُصْلِهِ جَهَنَّمَ وَسَاءَتْ مَصِيرًا﴾
(al-Nisāʾ: 114)
"And whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows a way other than that of the believers, We will turn him to what he has turned to, and We will burn him in Hell – what an evil destination!"
❀ Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله, 728 AH) states:
هذه الآية تدل على أن إجماع المؤمنين حجة من جهة أن مخالفتهم مستلزمة لمخالفة الرسول وأن كل ما أجمعوا عليه فلا بد أن يكون فيه نص عن الرسول... مخالف مثل هذا الإجماع يكفر كما يكفر مخالف النص البين .
"This verse proves that the consensus of the believers is binding, because opposing them entails opposing the Messenger ﷺ. Whatever they agree upon must certainly have a text from the Messenger ﷺ. Hence, whoever opposes such a definitive consensus becomes a disbeliever, just like the one who opposes a clear text."
(Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā: 7/39)
❀ He also states:
قال العلماء : من لم يكن متبعا سبيلهم كان متبعا غير سبيلهم... فليس لأحد أن يخرج عما أجمعوا عليه.
"The scholars have said: Whoever does not follow the path of the believers is following another path. From this verse they deduced that following the way of the believers is obligatory, and no one is allowed to deviate from what they have unanimously agreed upon."
(Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā: 7/173)
❀ He further states:
أما إذا أجمعوا على الشيء فلا يرتاب فى كونه حجة .
"If they (the Tābiʿīn) agree upon something, then there is no doubt that it is binding evidence."
(Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā: 13/370)
❀ He also says:
الإجماع هو الأصل الثالث الذى يعتمد عليه فى العلم والدين .
"Ijmaʿ is the third fundamental source upon which reliance is placed in knowledge and religion."
(Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā: 3/157)
❀ Moreover, he states:
إجماعهم معصوم من الخطأ كما أن إجماع الفقهاء على الأحكام معصوم من الخطأ... فكذلك أهل العلم بالحديث إذا أجمعوا على صحة خبر أفاد العلم... لكن إجماعهم معصوم عن الخطأ.
"Their consensus is infallible, just as the consensus of the jurists on rulings is infallible. If the jurists agree upon a ruling, their consensus is a proof, whether it is based on a solitary report, qiyās, or the generality of a text. Likewise, if the scholars of ḥadīth unanimously agree on the authenticity of a narration, it yields certain knowledge. Even though an individual scholar may err, their collective consensus is infallible."
(Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā: 18/49)
