Ijma' (Consensus)
Agreement among Islamic scholars on a legal question, considered the third source of Islamic law.
Ijma' (consensus) is the third source of Islamic jurisprudence after the Quran and the Sunnah. It refers to the agreement among qualified Islamic scholars (mujtahidun) on a legal question in a given period. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "My community will never agree upon an error" (Sunan Ibn Majah).
Regarding prayer, there is ijma' on many fundamental aspects: that the five daily prayers are obligatory, that wudu is a prerequisite, that the prayer must be performed facing the qibla, and that the prayer has specific pillars (arkan) such as qiyam, ruku, and sujud. These matters are not subject to disagreement among the scholars.
Imam al-Shafi'i was the first to systematically define ijma' as a legal source in his "al-Risalah." There is, however, disagreement about who should participate in ijma': some require all scholars in the entire Muslim community, while others accept the scholars of a particular region or period.
Related terms
Haram (Forbidden)
Actions that are strictly forbidden in Islamic law.
Khums (One-Fifth)
The obligatory payment of one-fifth of the year's surplus in Shia Islam.
Qabd (Folding the Arms in Prayer)
The practice of folding the arms over the chest or below the navel during the standing position in prayer.
Ghusl (Ritual Full-Body Washing)
The complete ritual washing of the entire body, required in certain situations.
Muharram (The Sacred Month)
The first and one of the four sacred months in the Islamic calendar.
Ijtihad (Independent Legal Reasoning)
The independent interpretive effort to derive legal rules from the Islamic sources.