The Ranks of Ijmāʿ

Answer

In terms of who forms it, ijmāʿ has the following three ranks. (1) The strongest rank of ijmāʿ is that which all the noble Companions made explicitly, whether in practice or in words — for the whole ummah agrees that it is a qaṭʿī (definitive) proof. (2) The second rank is the "ijmāʿ sukūtī" (tacit ijmāʿ)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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