Al-Waadih Fee Usool ul-Fiqh by Muhammad Hussein Abdullah

None of the ‘Ulamaa or Fuqahaa have denied Ijmaa As-Sahaabah because its Hujjiyah (proof of validity as a source of evidence) is clear and Qat’iy (definite) however they differed and disagreed about the other types of Ijmaa’ like Ijmaa’ Al-Ummah, Ijmaa’ Al-Mujtahideen, Ijmaa’ of the people of Al-Madinah and the Ijmaa’ of the four Khulafaa’ amongst others. The reasons for their difference in respect to the rested upon basis of Ijmaa’ goes back to the following matters:

1 – The Muslims have been commanded to follow that which Allah Ta’Aalaa has revealed and so it is necessary for the Ijmaa’ to have a rested upon basis from the Wahi like the Kitaab and the Sunnah that it depends upon.

As for the Qur’aan, then it has arrived to us by way of Tawaatur and nothing of it has been left behind due to the Qawl of Allah Ta’Aalaa:

In respect to the Ahkaam which the Qur’aan Al-Kareem has guided to and indicated, whether deduced by Ijtihaad or without Ijtihaad, then their Daleel is the Qur’aan and not Ijmaa’. And so the Aayah:

This Aayah indicates by its Mafhoom (understanding), as taken from the meanings of the Alfaazh (wordings) of the Arabic language, that the mothers include the origins or roots (Usool) of the women like the grandmothers and the great grandmothers, just as the daughters indicates by its Mafhoom the daughters of the boys and girls (grandchildren) and their daughters (great grandchildren). As for what the Sahaabah agreed upon or held a consensus upon, then this was the meaning of the Aayah, just as they had agreed upon many of meanings of the Alfaazh (wordings) of the Qur’aan and the Sunnah.

This then does not represent an Ijmaa’ but rather an agreement upon an Ijtihaad whilst Ijtihaad is not a Daleel. Rather it is the expending of effort by the Mujtahideen in order to understand the Adillah AshShar’iyah to extract the practical Ahkaam Ash-Shar’iyah.

This is whilst the Ijmaa’ is a Daleel in itself. That is because the Daleel that they took in their Ijmaa’ did not reach us and as such our Daleel for the Hukm is their Ijmaa’. It follows that this cannot be realised in other than the Ijmaa’ As-Sahaabah because they alone are those who heard the Daleel from the Messenger of Allah (saw)

whether this was manifested in a Qawl, Fi’l or Taqreer (speech, act or consent). Therefore, the rested upon basis (Mustanad) for Ijmaa’ AsSahaabah is the Sunnah alone. That is because the Qur’aan has reached us in a complete form whilst the Sunnah has reached us through narration in an incomplete form and the Ijmaa’ As-Sahaabah then completed its arrival to us. In that way the Messenger (saw) had completed his delivery of the Message in a complete form to his companions. Allah Ta’Aalaa said:

2 – As for the Mustanad (relied upon basis) for Ijmaa’ being Qiyaas (analogy) then this is not accurate. That is because the correct (or sound) Qiyaas and the one that is recognised by the Shar’a is the one that rests upon a text (Nass) from the Kitaab or the Sunnah. Most of Ijtihaad falls within the subject area of Qiyaas and Qiyaas is a source from amongst the sources of legislation like the Qur’aan, Sunnah and Ijmaa’, and is a Daleel for the Ahkaam Ash-Shar’iyah. Therefore, an Ijmaa’ of the Sahaabah or of the Mujtahideen upon a Hukm Shar’iy, the source of which is Qiyaas, would actually mean that the Daleel for the Hukm is Qiyaas and not Ijmaa’ whilst their Ijmaa’ would only represent an agreement or consensus upon its understanding and its transmission alone.

3 – Those who say that the Ijmaa’ is convened without a Shar’iy Sanad (basis/attribution) have no Daleel or semblance of a Daleel to support their position. They have said this wanting to insert into Islaam that which is not from it whilst the Messenger of Allah (saw)

said:

4 – None of the ‘Ulamaa have relayed a Hukm Shar’iy that they have agreed upon other than the Ijmaa’ As-Sahaabah. All that they looked in to in terms of Ijmaa’ Al-Ummah and Ijmaa’ Al-Mujtahideen represents nothing more than a theoretical study detached from practicality. This is in addition to the evidences that they used to establish these types of Ijmaa’ being Zhanniyah (indefinite). This is whilst in Usool (the foundations) sources of evidence are not taken based upon Zhann due to the Qawl of Allah Ta’Aalaa:

And ‘Ilm (knowledge) in this Aayah is Yaqeen (certainty).