Books that transmit scholarly consensus and the book of Ibn al-Mundhir
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Should I accept the books that clarify the issues on which there is consensus, or should I accept the books that explain the consensus?
The Shaykh:
The books that explain the consensus are the books of usul al-fiqh (the principles of jurisprudence), provided you understand the meaning, definition, and explanation of consensus. So, refer to the books of usul al-fiqh. However, if you want to know the specific issues on which there is consensus, there are specialized books that serve as encyclopedias of consensus, such as al-Ijma' by Ibn al-Mundhir.
Likewise, there is a modern encyclopedia in which its author transmitted what he found in the books regarding issues where consensus is claimed. In any case, one cannot encompass all the issues of consensus, but only to the extent possible. They also say that Ibn al-Mundhir (may Allah have mercy on him) was lenient in reporting consensus, so not everything he mentioned is necessarily agreed upon as being consensus. Some even said that if he saw a majority opinion, he would say, "This is a matter of consensus."
Should I accept the books that clarify the issues on which there is consensus, or should I accept the books that explain the consensus?
The Shaykh:
The books that explain the consensus are the books of usul al-fiqh (the principles of jurisprudence), provided you understand the meaning, definition, and explanation of consensus. So, refer to the books of usul al-fiqh. However, if you want to know the specific issues on which there is consensus, there are specialized books that serve as encyclopedias of consensus, such as al-Ijma' by Ibn al-Mundhir.
Likewise, there is a modern encyclopedia in which its author transmitted what he found in the books regarding issues where consensus is claimed. In any case, one cannot encompass all the issues of consensus, but only to the extent possible. They also say that Ibn al-Mundhir (may Allah have mercy on him) was lenient in reporting consensus, so not everything he mentioned is necessarily agreed upon as being consensus. Some even said that if he saw a majority opinion, he would say, "This is a matter of consensus."
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 34 من 36 /شرح العقيدة الواسطية (شرح قديم)/اتباع آثار رسول الله/صالح الفوزان/العقيدة/كبار العلماء — youtube.com (1:04:04)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.