Fatwas of the Department of Ifta and the Difference Between Them and Ijma' (Scholarly Consensus)

The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. If ijma' (scholarly consensus) is the consensus of the scholars of the principles of jurisprudence on a legal ruling, then for example, some of the fatwas issued by the Department of Ifta of the Kingdom, such as the types of insurance and organ transplantation, have been agreed upon as permissible. But when I asked one of the scholars, he said this is haram (forbidden) and this is not permissible. If the fatwa is issued, which is greater?

The Shaykh:
You are the one who is mistaken. There is still no permissibility for insurance; insurance is haram (forbidden), so it remains on the ruling of prohibition. Likewise, regarding organ transplantation, they did not reach a consensus; they only issued rulings on specific issues, not on organ transplantation in general in every case. This is not called ijma' (scholarly consensus). Even if it is the Department of Ifta, it is not called ijma', but rather it is called the opinion of the people of ifta in that country only. As for ijma', it is necessary that all the scholars of the Muslims agree on this ruling.