The Meaning of Imam Ahmad's Statement: Whoever Claims Consensus Has Lied
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Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: It is narrated from Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said, "Whoever claims consensus has lied." He asks: What is the meaning of this statement?
Answer:
Yes. Whoever claims definitive consensus—definitive consensus—consensus is of two types. Definitive consensus is when all the scholars agree on it; this is definitive consensus. As for probable consensus, it is when a group of scholars says this and no one contradicts them; this is probable consensus. And this is the majority and the norm. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: It is narrated from Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said, "Whoever claims consensus has lied." He asks: What is the meaning of this statement?
Answer:
Yes. Whoever claims definitive consensus—definitive consensus—consensus is of two types. Definitive consensus is when all the scholars agree on it; this is definitive consensus. As for probable consensus, it is when a group of scholars says this and no one contradicts them; this is probable consensus. And this is the majority and the norm. Yes.
Source
المنتقى من أخبار سيد المرسلين 27-04-1437هـ — alfawzan.live (55:25)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.