Sabtu, 23 Maret 2013

Al-Mustaṣfā Min ‘Ilm al-Uṣūl by Imām al-Ghazālī: A Summary on IJMĀ’

Al-Mustaṣfā Min ‘Ilm al-Uṣūl by Imām al-Ghazālī
(A Summary on IJMĀ’)[1]

By: Edi Kurniwan


Ijmā’ is the unanimity of the ummah of Muhammad SAW, particularly on certain religious issues. Its linguistic meaning is unanimity (al-Ittifāq) and resolution (al-Izmā’). Thus it combines both of these. Thus it combines both of these. According to al-Nazzām, ijmā’ is an expression for every statement whose proof is evident.


The evidences of ijmā’ are from al-Qur’ān and Sunnah, namely Q.S al-Baqarah: 143, Q.S al-‘A’rāf: 18, Āli ‘Imrān: 103, al-Shūrā: 10. Its comprehension: what has you agreed in it is right. And in the other āyāt, Q.S al-Nisā’: 59 and 115. For this necessitates the following of the path of the believer. This is the verse that Imām al-Shāfi’ī relied upon.


The Prophet Muhammad SAW also says: My ummah will not agree on a mistake. This respect to its wording is stronger than tha above verses and more indicative of purpose. But it is not mutawātir, like the Qur’ān. In the other Hadith, The Prophet Muhammad SAW also says:
“My ummah will not agree on an error”.
“Allah will not let my ummah come together on an error”.
“I have asked Allāh SWT that He not bring together the whole of my ummah on an error. And He granted it”.


There are two constituents of Ijmā’, namely the participants (al-mujma’ūn) and ijmā’ itself (nafs al-ijmā’). The participants are the ummah of Muhammad SAW. The apparent (meaning) of this includes all Muslims. But, for every apparent there are two distinct extremes concerning omission and confirmation of participants, as well as similar intermediates. This refers to every mujtahid and fatwā is accerted. He is definitely of the people of influence (ahl al-hal wa al-‘aqd) and his agreement is necessary for ijmā’.


ijmā’ itself (nafs al-ijmā’) is the agreement of fatwās of the ummah on a question in one matter, whether the generation has passed or not, whether they have given their fatwā on the basis of the personal reason (ijtihād) or a atext as long as the fatwā is an explicit articulation.  


The completion of the inquiry in this constituents is in elucidating that silence is not like utterance, the passing of generation is not a condition, and ijmā’ can be constituted on the basis of the personal reason (ijtihād).


The status of Ijmā’ is obligatory to apply prohibition to dissent it as well as refraining from all that accuses the ummah of neglegting the truth.





[1] Abū Hāmid bin Muhammad al-Ghazālī, al-Mustaṣfā Min ‘Ilm al-Uṣūl, ed. Tāḥā al-Shaikh (Egypt: al-Maktabah al-Tawfikiyyah, 2010), Vol: I, P. 253-292, Chapter: Ijmā’,

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