ijma
Ijma is the agreement of the mujtahids (jurists competent to reason independently) of a particular age on a question of law. In Sunni theory it ranks third among the sources of law, after the Quran and the Sunna and before qiyas (analogy). Its authority rests on a tradition that the community will not agree on an error.
Schools differ on whose consensus counts: some limited it to the companions of the Prophet, the Malikis gave weight to the scholars of Medina, while the wider view accepts the consensus of the jurists of any generation. A rule established by ijma is binding, though later consensus may in theory alter it. Shia jurists accept ijma only where it reflects the view of the Imams.
Example
A rule agreed upon by the jurists of an age through ijma binds later Sunni jurists even though no Quranic verse states it.
See also
fiqh · qiyas · ijtihad · sharia
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