Ijma‟ is the verbal noun of the Arabic word Ajmaa, which has two meanings: 1) to determine, 2) to agree upon something.

There are many types of Ijma‟ discussed in the books of Usul al-Fiqh. Some of these are; Ijma‟ al Ummah, Ijma‟ al Mujtahideen, Ijma‟ ahlel Bayt, Ijma al Madinah and Ijma‟ as-Sahabah. Ijma‟ as-Sahabah is the only one that is definitive and agreed upon.

If the Sahabah (ra) after the death of the Prophet (saw) were to agree unanimously upon a solution to a problem without any dissent amongst each other, in the absence of a ruling from the Qur‟an and Sunnah, then this agreement is considered to be a Daleel. This agreement must have been based upon some teaching of Mohammed (saw) of which they all knew, but which did not reach us directly in the form of Hadith. Therefore, Ijma‟ as-Sahabah is an indication of Sunnah itself.