The Third Source of Fiqh: Ijmāʿ (Consensus)

Answer

In Arabic, the word "ijmāʿ" (إجماع) means "to come to agreement." In its lexical sense, "agreement" (ittifāq) and "ijmāʿ" are one and the same. But in the terminology of the Sharia, "ijmāʿ" denotes a particular kind of agreement: the unanimous consensus of all the fuqahā'-mujtahids of a given era — after the passing of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ — on a specific ruling of the…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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