Ijma Is Not Islamic Law

Salaamun alaykum, dear readers!

There is a misconception among a supermajority of Muslims that ijma (which is the Arabic word for consensus) is a form of binding Islamic law.

What is Ijma?

It is believed that when the Quran and/or Hadiths are silent on certain issues, then the unanimous opinion of Islamic scholars decides whether something is permissible (halal) or forbidden (haram).

This idea states that when 100% Islamic scholars have reached a consensus (ijma) regarding any issue, especially that which the Quran and Hadiths are silent on, then it becomes mandatory upon the entire Muslim community to follow that consensus.

Therefore, contradicting the unanimous scholarly consensus (the opinion of all scholars) on any issue related to Islam is viewed as forbidden in Islam.

To give a hypothetical example, if scholars unanimously (or at least the vast majority, since oftentimes true unanimity is impractical) said that being a Democrat is forbidden, then being a Democrat would be declared “haram” (forbidden) in Islam, even though the Quran or Hadiths do not mention anything about American political parties.

Many Muslims shockingly go as far as to say that if there is any contradiction between some part of the Quran and the consensus of most scholars, then it is a sign that this part of the Quran was abrogated, or nullified, and was replaced with the consensus.

Many also say that if someone wants to find evidence that something is forbidden in Islam, one must first examine whether there is 100% agreement from scholars (ijma) on this issue. If ijma exists in this issue, then it is enough evidence of prohibition, and the person does not even need to look further into the Quran or Hadiths to verify it.

Here is what the famous scholar al-Ghazali said on this matter in his book Al-Mustasfa:

In clarifying the order of evidence, we say that it is incumbent upon a Mujtahid (Qualified Islamic jurist) to first consider the original state of negation before any Sharia text has arrived. Then, he should examine the textual evidence (Quran and Sunna) that alters this state, beginning with consensus. If there is a consensus on an issue, further examination of the Qur’an and Sunnah is unnecessary, for they are susceptible to abrogation, whereas consensus is not. A consensus opposing what is in the Qur’an and Sunna is definitive evidence of abrogation, as the Ummah (Islamic community) cannot collectively err.

Where Did This Idea Come From?

So where does this idea of consensus (ijma in Arabic) being a source of Islamic law come from? It comes from several Hadiths such as this:

Ibn ‘Umar narrated that the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) said: “Indeed, Allah will never allow my ummah (community) to unite upon misguidance, and Allah’s Hand is over the Jama’ah (the Muslim community). And whoever deviates, he deviates towards the Fire.” (Tirmidhi, number 2167, classified as Hasan by al-Albani).

So you can see where the “ijma” doctrine comes from. This hadith says that the Muslim community is protected by God from coming together to agree on a wrong or misguided idea.

Another Hadith states that if most Muslims make praises about a person after they died, then it will become certain that they will go to Paradise. But if most Muslims have negative opinions about a person’s character after they died, then it will become certain that they will go to Hell. Hence, this Hadith further inspires the idea that ijma (consensus among most Muslims) is a source of law in Islam alongside the Quran.

Narrated Anas bin Malik: A funeral procession passed and the people praised the deceased. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “It has been affirmed to him.” Then another funeral procession passed and the people spoke badly of the deceased. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “It has been affirmed to him”. Umar bin Al-Khattab asked, “What has been affirmed?” He replied, “You praised this, so Paradise has been affirmed to him; and you spoke badly of this, so Hell has been affirmed to him. You people are Allah’s witnesses on earth.” (Bukhari, no. 1367)

Elevation of Islamic Scholars as Islamic Lawmakers

However, God Himself disagrees with the idea that scholarly consensus can form Islamic law in the absence of a Quranic prohibition.

To begin with, God alone is the only one who has the authority to define and create Islamic law, and no human being. The Quran forbade having “partners” besides God who legislate (make laws) in the religion of Islam.

[6:114] “So shall I seek other than God as a judge, while He is the one who brought down to you the detailed Book?”…

[42:21] Or do they have partners who have legislated for them of the religion what God did not authorize?…

[66:1] O prophet, why do you forbid what God has made lawful for you, seeking to please your wives? But God is Forgiving, Merciful.

But the idea of unanimous scholarly consensus being a binding source of Islamic law, especially regarding issues not mentioned in revealed scripture, makes scholars effectively a lawmaker in the religion besides God, which is contradictory to the above three verses.

The Quran condemned it when the People of the Book elevated their scholars as lords besides God, but those who follow the doctrine of scholarly consensus (ijma) are unfortunately engaging in the same behavior when giving scholars the power to make permissions or prohibitions in Islam that do not exist in revelation.

[9:31] They have taken their scholars and their monks as lords besides God, as well as the Messiah, the son of Mary. But they were not commanded except to worship one god. There is no god but He. The sublimity of Him, from how they ascribe partners.

Are There Quranic Verses in Support of Ijma?

The Quran in several places commands Muslims to follow “the way of the believers” in verse 4:115, and also in verse 31:15.

And verse 1:7 defines the straight path as “the path of those whom God has blessed”.

So these verses are interpreted as supporting “ijma” (consensus of scholars) as a source of Islamic law.

But what is the “way of the believers” (sabeel al-mu’mineen) and “the path of those whom God has blessed”?

Certainly, such statements cannot and should not be interpreted to mean that Muslims collectively have any kind of lawmaking power in the religion of Islam besides God.

Rather, “the way of the believers” is just the path that God revealed in the Quran for the believers to follow. The same applies to “the path of those whom God has blessed”.

So in short, following the way of the believers is the same thing as being a believer.

Another verse that commonly misinterpreted to justify the doctrine of ijma is verse 4:83, which says:

[4:83] And when a matter of security or fear has come to them, they publicize it. But if they had referred it to the messenger, and to the people of authority among them, the ones among them who would make the correct conclusions about it would definitely have known about it…

But this verse is not talking about matters involving Islam at all. This verse just says to refer any sensitive information to the relevant authorities or the police rather than make it public, which is a common-sense thing to do. Some examples include:

Rumors about criminal activity or security threats
CCTV footage that has captured criminal activity
Credible threats of violence or criminal activity
Any other information where it is wise to send to the public authorities first before posting it online.

So there is no Quranic support for the idea that unanimous agreement among Islamic scholars can be a source of Islamic law and create new rules, regulations, and prohibitions.

The Prime Example

The consensus amongst nearly all scholars and Muslims is that prophet Muhammad is the last messenger.

He is the final prophet, however the Quran never says he is the final messenger.

It says in verse 3:81 that all prophets took a covenant from God. In that covenant, the prophets (including Muhammad) agreed to receive a scripture from God. Then afterwards, a messenger will come to all the prophets (including Muhammad), and it will be the mission of this future messenger to confirm the scriptures given to all the prophets.

All prophets (including Muhammad) were told in this covenant that they must support and believe in him. The prophets responded by agreeing to do this.

Here is verse 3:81, which discusses the coming of the messenger after prophet Muhammad:

[3:81] And when God took the covenant of the prophets: “Definitely, this is what I will give you of Book and wisdom. Then a messenger will come to you (all prophets, including Muhammad) as one who will confirm what is with you (the scriptures). Definitely, you (all prophets, including Muhammad) shall indeed believe in him and support him.” He said, “Have you agreed and accepted that, My heavy responsibility?” They (all prophets, including Muhammad) said, “We have agreed.” He said, “So bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses.

Verse 33:7 clarifies in straightforward language that the prophet Muhammad took this covenant from God alongside the other prophets. This means, alongside the other prophets, Muhammad also agreed to support a messenger who will come after him, confirming the Quran that was given to prophet Muhammad.

[33:7] And when We took from the prophets their covenant—including from you (Muhammad), Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, the son of Mary—and We took from them a stern covenant.

The Quran is very clear on this issue: there will be a messenger after the prophet Muhammad. The exact identity of this messenger is discussed in this link.

But the “consensus” (ijma) right now says that Muhammad is the final messenger.

Therefore, following “ijma” as a source of Islamic law will mislead people from many important truths from the Quran, and this just one example among many others.

story time

It is commonly believed via scholarly consensus (ijma) that a woman cannot marry a non-Muslim, even if he was a non-polytheist. However, the Quran and Hadiths are silent on this matter.

Verse 60:10 is the only verse in the Quran that forbids interfaith marriage, but that verse (as is self-evident in the text) is only talking to the believers during the time of the prophet and not to the general public. This fact is not disputed by scholars.

So in reality, no verse in the Quran makes a universally-applicable prohibition on interfaith marriage for women. The prohibition against Muslim women marrying non-Muslim men comes neither from the Quran, nor any Hadith that is confirmed as authentic.

Rather, the prohibition against marriage to non-Muslim men comes mainly from “ijma” (unanimous agreement among Islamic scholars) rather than the Quran or any Hadiths which are confirmed to be authentic.

A Muslim woman follows the Quran alone and not Hadiths, so she is not a Sunni. She recently stated on an Instagram reel that she might not be able to find love or get married because she is “too Muslim” for the non-Muslims, yet she is “not Muslim enough” for the Muslims (due to her following the Quran alone).

I commented on her post that if she’s having a hard time finding a Muslim spouse, she is not restricted in the Quran to only marrying a Muslim given that her husband is not a polytheist. Then I encouraged her to follow her heart and marry someone whom she truly connects with, because at the end of the day, she will not be held responsible if her husband does not wish to be Muslim.

Needless to say, my comment was absolutely “ratio’ed” (to use Gen Z slang). The comments were mostly negative, and my critics collectively received about 2-3 times the amount of likes that I did.

I received probably about 36 critical comments in total calling me ignorant and foolish, accusing me of promoting fornication and spreading false information, saying that I need to learn from a qualified teacher, or that am not a real Muslim but a paid propaganda artist from Israel, and insisting that it is 100% indisputable fact that a Muslim woman cannot marry a non-Muslim. I believe I only had about 3 supportive comments.

I responded to almost all of these comments, reminding them that the Muslim woman who made the Instagram reel that we are all commenting under follows the Quran alone. I then asked them to provide me the evidence primarily from the Quran alone for the idea that interfaith marriage is not allowed for women, as that is most relevant to her.

So far, one person responded with verse 2:221 (which only forbids marriage to polytheists, rather than non-polytheists) and another responded with verse 5:5 (which only clarifies that it is lawful for men to marry Jewish and Christian women, but is silent on whether Muslim women may marry Jewish and Christian men). Neither of these verses serve as strong evidence to prohibit Muslim women from marrying non-Muslim men.

Others have responded by insisting that the Quran forbids interfaith marriage that it is extremely clear from the Quran, but did not bother providing any Quranic reference or reference from Hadith either.

Two other people responded by criticizing the idea that the Quran must be followed alone in Islam.

Such is the power of “ijma” (scholarly consensus) on people’s ideas about what is forbidden and permitted in Islam, especially when the Quran and even Hadiths are silent about something.

It is unfortunate that the doctrine of ijma causes Muslims to elevate scholars to the position of religious lawmaker besides God, causing them to do the exact activity that is condemned by God in verse 9:31 (taking scholars as lords besides God).

I pray to God that we Muslims come together and fix ourselves. We can start by returning the power of lawmaking in Islam back to God alone.