Most of the ‘Ulamaa and Fuqahaa and the vast majority have stated that Al-Ijmaa’ represents a Hujjah (a source of evidence and proof for the Ahkaam Ash-Shar’iyah) and that it represents a Masdar (source) for the Islamic legislation. However, they have differed in respect to upon whom the Ijmaa’ occurs and they have also differed in respect to the possibility of the occurrence of the different kinds of Ijmaa’. The following represents some of the opinions of those ‘Ulamaa and Fuqahaa:

Ash-Shaafi’iy (rh) said: “Ruling (judging) is by the Kitaab and the Sunnah” and then he said: “And we rule with Al-Ijmaa’ and AlQiyaas”.

Al-Ijmaa’ in Ash-Shaafi’iy’s view is manifested in the Ijmaa’ of the Mujtahideen of the Ummah in a certain era. However, he did open up some discussion in respect to the possibility of it occurring due to the separation and distance between the lands, the absence of the Fuqahaa meeting together and the existence of differences amongst the Fuqahaa in every land, in addition to the absence of an agreement upon defining the attributes or description of the ‘Ulamaa who would take part in such an Ijmaa’.

It appears that the concept of Ijmaa’ was not crystallised by AshShaafi’iy because he considered that the Ijmaa’ could take place in respect to that which is known from the Deen by necessity and he brought examples of that including: The four Raka’aat of Zhohr prayer and the prohibition of Khamr. This is despite these matters having been established and proven by definite evidences from the Kitaab and the Sunnah and have not been established by way of Ijmaa’ but rather transmitted to us by way of Tawaatur. Even if the whole Ummah and its Mujtahideen have agreed upon the legal legitimacy of these rulings this legal legitimacy however originated from evidences other than the Ijmaa’ as they came from the Kitaab and the Sunnah Al-Mutawaatirah.