general agreement (الاتِّفَاق)
الفقه أصول الفقه
التعريف :
Scholars of a particular school of fiqh – when such limitation is stated – or scholars of all recognised schools agree on a certain ruling.
المعنى الاصطلاحي :
Collective agreement of "mujtahids" (well versed Muslim jurists) on a specific ruling concerning a specific issue.
الشرح المختصر :
"Ittifāq" (agreement) is one of the most common terms used by scholars of Fiqh and "usool al-Fiqh" (fundamentals of Islamic Jurisprudence) denoting the scholarly consensus of opinion. It means that all Muslim scholars who are eligible to practice "ijtihād" (personal reasoning of a competent scholar) in the Muslim nation at any given time after the death of the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, agreed on a religious ruling.
التعريف اللغوي المختصر :
"Ittifāq": agreement, conformity and closeness between two things. Other meanings: convergence, unity, harmony.