What is meant by the statement of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him): "Whoever claims scholarly consensus is a liar, and what does he know? Perhaps they disagreed"?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Shaykh, regarding the issue of scholarly consensus, the statement of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding consensus is well known. Sometimes, in a specific issue, a report of consensus is transmitted. Could you please clarify?
The Shaykh : The consensus that Ahmad and others denied is theoretical consensus, not practical consensus. That is, the requirement of reasoning and independent legal reasoning is for a person to claim that this is consensus, but he does not have certainty in his heart regarding such a claim. Therefore, Ahmad clarifies this reality in his complete statement when he says: "And what does he know? Perhaps they disagreed." He is referring to the theoretical consensus that a person reaches through independent legal reasoning; he did not find a dissenting opinion, so he claimed that there is consensus on what he knew. As for the consensus that must be acknowledged and admitted, it is that which is known from the religion by necessity. It is that which is known from the religion by necessity, such that a Muslim cannot imagine that any Muslim would dissent from it. By this, reconciliation is achieved between those who deny consensus and those who affirm it. The affirmed consensus is not the denied consensus. The affirmed consensus is that which is known from the religion by necessity, and this is the most correct statement regarding consensus, and it is the statement of Ibn Hazm. As for the denied or doubtful consensus, it is the theoretical consensus based on tracking opinions, where one sees so-and-so saying this, and so-and-so, and so-and-so, and so-and-so; therefore, there is consensus on the issue. Imam Ahmad refuted this by saying: "Whoever claims scholarly consensus is a liar, and what does he know? Perhaps they disagreed." This is sound speech, and there is no refutation of it ever.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : The consensus that Ahmad and others denied is theoretical consensus, not practical consensus. That is, the requirement of reasoning and independent legal reasoning is for a person to claim that this is consensus, but he does not have certainty in his heart regarding such a claim. Therefore, Ahmad clarifies this reality in his complete statement when he says: "And what does he know? Perhaps they disagreed." He is referring to the theoretical consensus that a person reaches through independent legal reasoning; he did not find a dissenting opinion, so he claimed that there is consensus on what he knew. As for the consensus that must be acknowledged and admitted, it is that which is known from the religion by necessity. It is that which is known from the religion by necessity, such that a Muslim cannot imagine that any Muslim would dissent from it. By this, reconciliation is achieved between those who deny consensus and those who affirm it. The affirmed consensus is not the denied consensus. The affirmed consensus is that which is known from the religion by necessity, and this is the most correct statement regarding consensus, and it is the statement of Ibn Hazm. As for the denied or doubtful consensus, it is the theoretical consensus based on tracking opinions, where one sees so-and-so saying this, and so-and-so, and so-and-so, and so-and-so; therefore, there is consensus on the issue. Imam Ahmad refuted this by saying: "Whoever claims scholarly consensus is a liar, and what does he know? Perhaps they disagreed." This is sound speech, and there is no refutation of it ever.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.