Ijma` – Texts on Ijma`

Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani

  1. Fa`tasimu bi hablillahi jami`an wa la tafarraqu“Hold fast to the rope of Allah, all of you, and do not split into factions” (3:103).
  2. Wa la tafarraqu illa min ba`di ma ja’ahum al-`ilmu baghyan baynahum“And they were not divided until after the knowledge came unto them, through rivalry among themselves” (42:14).
  3. Ya ayyuha al-ladhina amanu ati`ullaha wa ati`u al-rasula wa uli al-amri minkum“O you who believe, obey Allah and obey the Prophet and thoseof authority among you” (4:59).
  4. Wa man yushaqiq al-rasula min ba`di ma tabayyana lahu al-huda wa yattabi` ghayra sabil al-mu’minin nuwallihi ma tawalla wa nuslihi jahannama wa sa’at masira“Whoever contraverts the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows other than the believers’ way, We shall give him over to what he has turned to and expose him unto hell, and how evil an outcome!” (4:115).
  5. Wa asbir nafsaka ma` al-ladhina yad`una rabbahum bi al-ghadati wa al-`ashiyyi yuriduna wajhah wa la ta`du `aynaka `anhum turidu zinat al-hayat al-dunya wa la tuti` man aghfalna qalbahu `an dhikrina wa ittaba`a hawahu wa kana amruhu furutan“Restrain thyself along with those who call upon their Lord at morning and evening, seeking his pleasure; and let not thine eyes overlook them, desiring the pomp of this worldly life; and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, who followeth his own lust and whose case has gone beyond all bounds.” (18:29)
  6. Ati`u Allaha wa ati`u al-rasula wa uli al-amri minkum…“Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those who are in charge of affairs among you. Should you happen to dispute over something, then refer it to Allah and to the Messenger.” (4:58-59)
  7. `Alaykum bi al-jama`a fa innallaha la yajma`u ummata Muhammadin `ala dalala“You have to follow the congregation for verily Allah will not make the largest group of Muhammad’s community agree on error.”
  8. La yajma`ullahu ummata Muhammadin `ala dalala“Verily Allah will not make Muhammad’s community agree on error.”La yajma`ullahu ummati `ala dalala

    “Verily Allah will not make my community agree on error”

    Inna Allaha la yajma`u ummati — aw qala: ummata Muhammadin –`ala dalalatin wa yadullahi ma` al-jama`a

    “Verily Allah will not make my community — or Muhammad’s community — agree on error, and Allah’s hand is with the largest congregation.” Tirmidhi said: “And the meaning of “jama`a” according to the people of knowledge is: the people of jurisprudence, learning, and hadith.”

  9. Man arada minkum bi habuhat al-jannati fal yulzim al-jama`at“Whoever among you wants to be in the middle of Paradise, let him cling to the congregation.”
  10. Inna al-shaytana dhaybun ka dhayb al-ghanam ya’khudh al-shat al-qasiya wal-najiya fa iyyakum wal-shu`aab wa `alaykum bil-jama`ati wal-`aammati wal-masjid“Shaytan is a wolf like the wolf that preys on sheep, taking the isolated and the stray among them; therefore, avoid factionalism and keep to the congregation and the collective and the masjid.”
  11. Inna ummati la tajtami`u `ala dalalatin fa idha ra’aytum al-ikhtilaf fa `alaykum bi al-sawad al-a`zam.“My community shall never agree upon misguidance, therefore, if you see divergences, you must follow the greater mass or larger group.”
    1. Lan tajtami`a ummati `ala dalalatin fa `alaykum bi al-jama`ati fa inna yadullahi `ala al-jama`a.”My Community shall not agree upon misguidance. Therefore, you must stay with the congregation, and Allah’s hand is over the congregation.”
  12. Innallaha qad ajara ummati min an tajtami`a `ala dalala“Verily Allah has protected my Community from agreeing upon error.”
  13. Kana al-nasu yas’aluna Rasulallahi `an al-khayr wa kuntu as’aluhu `an al-sharr…qultu ya rasulallahi sifhum lana [ayy al-du`at `ala abwabi jahannam] qala hum min jildatina wa yatakallamuna bi alsinatina qultu fa ma ta’murni in adrakani dhalik al-yawm? qala tulzim jama`at al-muslimin wa imamahum“People used to ask the Prophet about the good and I used to ask him about the evil… I said: O Messenger of Allah, describe them to us [the callers at the door of the fire]. He said: They are of our complexion and they speak our very language. I said: What do you order me to do if that day reaches me? He said: You must keep to the congregation of Muslims and to their leader.”
  14. Yadu Allah `ala al-jama`a“Allah’s hand is over the group.”al-Munawi said: “Allah’s hand is over the group means His protection and preservation for them, signifying that the collectivity of the people of Islam are in Allah’s fold, so be also in Allah’s shelter, in the midst of them, and do not separate yourselves from them. Whoever diverges from the overwhelming majority concerning what is lawful and unlawful and on which the Community does not differ has slipped off the path of guidance and this will lead him to hell.”

    Yadu Allah `ala al-jama`at wa man shadhdha shadhdha ila al-nar.

    “Allah’s hand is over the group, and whoever dissents from them departs to hell.”

    Yadu Allah `ala al-jama`a, ittabi`u al-sawad al-a`zam fa innahu man shadhdha shadhdha ila al-nar.

    “Allah’s hand is over the group, follow the largest group, for verily whoever dissents from them departs to hell.”

    Man faraqa al-jama`ata shibran mata maytatan jahiliyya.

    “Whoever leaves the community or separates himself from it by the length of a span, dies the death of the Jahiliyya (period of ignorance prior to Islam)”;

  15. 15. Ma ra’ahu al-muslimuna hasanan fa huwa `ind Allahi hasanun.“That which the Muslims consider good, Allah considers good.”
  16. Sataftariqu ummati `ala thalathat wa sab`ina firqatin kulluhum fil nari ila millatin wahidat, qalu man hiya ya rasulallah, qala ma ana `alayhi wa as-habi“My Community will split into seventy-three sects. All of them will be in the fire except one group. They asked: Who are they, O Messenger of Allah? He said: Those that follow my way and that of my companions.”
  17. La tazalu ta’ifatun min ummati yuqatiluna `ala al-haqqi zahirina ila yawm al-qiyama“There will always be a group from my Community that fight for truth and remain victorious until Judgment Day.”

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