Ijmāʿ (إجماع) is an Arabic term referring ideally to the consensus of the ummah (the community of Muslims, or followers of Islam). In reality, ijma referred only to the consensus of traditional Islamic scholars (Arabic ulema) on particular points of Islamic law . Arabic (; , less formally, ) is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... Consensus has two common meanings. ... Umma (Arabic: ) is an Arabic word meaning community or nation. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... Islām is described as a dÄ«n, meaning way of life and/or guidance. Six articles of belief There are six basic beliefs shared by all Muslims: 1. ... The Ulema are Muslim scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies, responsible for interpreting the Sharia. ... Sharia (Arabic شريعة also Sharia, Shariah or Syariah) is traditional Islamic law. ...

The hadith of Muhammad which states that "My community will never agree upon an error" is often cited as support for the validity of ijma. Sunni Muslims regard ijma as the third fundamental source of Sharia law, after the divine revelation of the Qur'an, the prophetic practice or Sunnah. The analogical reasoning or qiyas is described as fourth source in Sunni Islam , whereas Shi'a Islam uses 'aql (intellect).Many conservative Muslim writers have claimed that the use of ijma' makes Islamic law compatible with democracy. Hadith (Arabic: , Arabic pl. ... Muhammad is a common Muslim male name. ... Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... The Quran (Arabic , literally the recitation; also called or The Noble Quran; also transliterated Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... Sunna redirects to here, which can also refer to Sunne or Frau Sonne, a Scandinavian sun goddess, also known as Sol. ... In Sunni Islamic jurisprudence, Qiyas is the process of analogical reasoning from a known injunction (nass) to a new injunction. ...

Various proponents of liberal movements within Islam criticize the traditional view that ijma' is only a consensus among traditional Islamic scholars (Arabic ulema). They claim that truly democratic consensus should involve the entire community rather than a small and conservative clerical class. Since the 19th century, Muslim progressives have produced a considerable body of liberal thought within Islam (in Arabic: الإسلام الاجتهادي or interpretation-based Islam; also الإسلام التقدمي or progressive Islam). These have in common a religious outlook which depends mainly on ijtihad or re-interpretations of scriptures. ... The Ulema are Muslim scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies, responsible for interpreting the Sharia. ...

See also

• Five Pillars of Islam
• deliberative democracy
• Qiyas
• ijtihad
• ulema