---
title: "What Is Ijma (Scholarly Consensus)? | Islam Is Mercy"
description: "Ijma means the consensus of qualified Muslim scholars on a religious ruling. It is a key source of Islamic law after the Qur'an and Sunnah."
lang: en
url: https://islamismercy.com/en/glossary/ijma/
---

1.  [Home](https://islamismercy.com/en/)
2.  [Glossary](https://islamismercy.com/en/glossary/)
3.  What Is Ijma (Scholarly Consensus)?

# What Is Ijma (Scholarly Consensus)?

Written by **Islam Is Mercy Editorial Team**· 1 min readAwaiting scholar review

## The short answer

Ijma is the agreement of qualified Muslim scholars on a religious question. Where such consensus exists, Muslims treat it as a reliable guide alongside the Qur'an and the Sunnah. It is a large part of what keeps the core of Islam the same across centuries and countries.

## On this page

1.  Meaning
2.  How Muslims use it
3.  Example

**Ijma** (Arabic: إجماع) is pronounced *ij-MAA’*.

## Meaning

The word literally means *agreement* or *firm resolve*. In Islamic scholarship, *ijma* refers to the agreement of the qualified scholars of the Muslim community on a religious ruling. Most Muslim scholars list it as a source of Islamic law after the Qur’an and the Sunnah (the teaching and example of the Prophet ﷺ). Classical scholars such as al-Shafi’i drew support for it from verses like Qur’an 4:115, which warns against following a way other than the way of the believers.

Consensus is not new revelation. It is the community’s shared understanding of the Qur’an and Sunnah, passed down from the first generations of Muslims.

## How Muslims use it

Ijma is one reason Muslims everywhere share the same essentials: that there are five daily prayers, that Ramadan is a month of fasting, that the Qur’an we have today is the one revealed to Muhammad ﷺ. These matters are agreed upon and are not open to debate.

On many other questions there is no consensus, and scholars hold different, respected opinions. Scholars have also discussed how widely consensus applies and how it can be known. Knowing the difference between the agreed core and the open questions helps Muslims to be firm where they must and generous where they can.

## Example

*“There is ijma that the five daily prayers are obligatory, but scholars differ on some details of how they are performed.”*

Learn more in [Where Muslims Differ, and Why It’s Okay](https://islamismercy.com/en/core/where-muslims-differ/).

## Key takeaways

-   Ijma means the consensus of qualified Muslim scholars.
-   It is a source of Islamic law after the Qur'an and the Sunnah.
-   Consensus protects the agreed core of Islam, while leaving room for difference on details.

## Share this article

[WhatsApp](https://wa.me/?text=What%20Is%20Ijma%20(Scholarly%20Consensus)%3F%20https%3A%2F%2Fislamismercy.com%2Fen%2Fglossary%2Fijma%2F)[Telegram](https://t.me/share/url?url=https%3A%2F%2Fislamismercy.com%2Fen%2Fglossary%2Fijma%2F&text=What%20Is%20Ijma%20(Scholarly%20Consensus)%3F)[X](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=What%20Is%20Ijma%20(Scholarly%20Consensus)%3F&url=https%3A%2F%2Fislamismercy.com%2Fen%2Fglossary%2Fijma%2F)[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fislamismercy.com%2Fen%2Fglossary%2Fijma%2F)

## Talk to a Muslim

Have a question that isn't answered here? Ask a real person — no pressure, no judgement.

[Ask your question](https://islamismercy.com/en/talk/)

## Keep reading

[What Muslims Agree On

### Where Muslims Differ, and Why It's Okay

Muslims agree on the foundations of Islam but differ on many details. Here is what is fixed, what scholars legitimately debate, and why that is normal.

Read article](https://islamismercy.com/en/core/where-muslims-differ/)[Glossary

### What Does Sharia Mean?

Sharia means God's guidance for life in Islam — covering worship, ethics, family, business and justice. It is much more than criminal law.

Read article](https://islamismercy.com/en/glossary/sharia/)[Glossary

### What Is a Fatwa?

A fatwa is a scholarly answer to a question about Islamic belief or practice, given by a qualified scholar called a mufti.

Read article](https://islamismercy.com/en/glossary/fatwa/)