Week 02
Day 03
Ijma
M/J 2017
Paper 02
Q2(a): Outline:
• what consensus of opinion (ijma’) is, and how many kinds of ijma’ there are;
• who is qualified to practise it;
• give examples of how the Prophet and the Rightly Guided Caliphs practised ijma’. [10]
Meaning and Justification:
According to the principles of Islamic law, ijma is the third source. The word ijma means “consensus” or
“unanimous agreement”. It should be referred to only when there is no clear teaching in the Quran or Sunna.
The use of ijma in legal thinking is based on a number of verses in the Quran, for example
• “Thus have We made of you a community justly balanced, that you might be witnesses over the nation,
and the Messenger a witness over yourselves.” [2:143]
• “You are the best of people evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right forbidding what is wrong and
believing in Allah.” [3:110]
These and other verses like them indicate that the community has been given authority because it is upright and follows
the guidance of Allah and the example of the Prophet (pbuh).
The Holy Prophet (pbuh) also referred to the importance of following the community, when he said, “My community will
never agree upon an error.” The Holy Prophet to have said, “Gather together the righteous from among my community
and decide the matter by their counsel and do not decide it by any man’s opinion.” Therefore, from very early times it
has been accepted that the agreed view of the community is binding upon Muslims in legal and more general matters.
Kinds of Ijma:
There are two broad kinds of Ijma. The first is the general agreement of all Muslims in matters of belief, for
example, that the Quran is the most authentic revealed book and that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the best of all
creation. This kind of Ijma is the acknowledgment of the beliefs that characterize Islam and are shared by all believers.
The second particularly concerns legal matters and can be defined as the agreement of a group of Muslims about an
issue on which the Quran and Holy Prophet’s Sunnah have not spoken the final word. More recently, the
permissibility of IVF for married Muslim couples who do not have children.
Who is qualified to practice this?
Legal experts have differed over who makes up this ‘group of Muslims’ whose Ijma should be accepted. Some said that
they should be
the companions of the Prophet (pbuh); others that they should be
the companions of Madina; yet others that they should be
the Rightly Guided Caliphs. Shi’i Muslims claim that they should be the descendants of the Holy Prophet (Imams), while
others said that they should be the legal scholars of any generation.
Examples from Quran (if asked in Paper 01)
• Regarding inheritance the Quran says,
o “It is prescribed, when death approaches any of you, if he leaves any goods, that he should make a
bequest to parents and next of kin.” [2:180]
o If a father has died before his son, and the son also dies, then the grandfather shares in the son’s
estate, together with other relatives. It allows for grandfather to take the father’s place in inheriting
from the son , even though it is not stated in so many words in the Quran.
• Marriage between a man and any of his grandmothers or granddaughters is forbidden.
This is based on the teachings in the Quran which begins, “Prohibited to you are: your mothers, daughters,
sisters; father’s sisters, mother’s sisters. Brother’s daughters, sister’s daughter; foster mothers, foster sisters;
your wives’ mothers, your step daughters under your guardianship, born of your wives.” [4:23]
The principles follows the spirit of this full list, and adds two categories about which it is silent but which clearly
conform to all the one mentioned here.
Examples From Hadith [Paper 01,02]
• The Prophet (P.B.U.H) always practised consensus of opinion (ijma) by consulting his companions on important
matters.
• For example, Azaan, He consulted his companions. Hazrat Umar’s suggestion was accepted that it should be in
human voice.
• In the battle of Uhad he consulted his companions and accepted their suggestion of fighting outside Madina
although he himself had a different opinion.
• Similarly, he practised ijma before the battle of Trench and accepted the suggestion of Salman Farsi.
Examples of Caliphs [Paper 02]
Compilation of the Qur’an.
The Qur’an was revealed in a span of 23 years. It was not compiled in a book form during the life of Prophet (p.b.u.h.).
After his death, Hazrat Abu Bakr on suggestion of Umar (R.A) and by Ijm’a of the Companions, Quran was compiled in a
book form when 360 Companions of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) were killed in the battle of Yamamah.
Tarawih Prayers in congregation
The Prophet (p.b.u.h.) prayed tarawih only three or four times in congregation in his lifetime. It was later during the
reign of the Caliph Umar (R.A) that the system of congregation of Tarawih was added after’ Isha prayers.
Two Adhan of Jum’ah.
During the time of Prophet (p.b.u.h.) there was only one Adhan for Jum’ah prayers but during the reign of the Caliph
Uthman, Madinah expanded considerably and the Adhan could not be heard because of noise in the markets, therefore,
it was decided after Ijm’a of the companions that another Adh’an should be given.
Conclusion
These examples show that ijma can be regarded as a continuation of the divine teaching for legal and
practical purposes. It was always safeguarded by the agreement of leading Muslims or of experts who could
say whether or not a principle was in harmony with the Quran and Sunnah.
2 (b) Why are some Muslims not in favour of the use of analogy (qiyas) in solving present day issues? [4]
2(b) Why do some legal Scholars reject the use of analogy (qiyas)?
• Qiyas is the fourth source of Islamic law according to sunni Muslims coming after Quran, Hadith and Ijma. It
involves the comparison of an existing accepted situation with a new one.
• Some Muslims especially Shia reject it because it involves a lot of individual opinion.
• Its decision may differ from one person to another and therefore, cause unease for some Muslims
• e.g in the Quranic command about polygamy the qiyas of one person will be different from other due to which
a specific number cannot be decided for anyone.
• It does not have the same broad support of the community through communal agreement as other three
sources have.
Home work
Q2 (a)
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