ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Shiite Islam: Orthodoxy or Heterodoxy? Chapter 4: The Infallible Divine Authority: Source of Law and Doctrine in Islāmic ijmā‘ In the preceding pages, we have addressed the issue of ijmā' . We have seen that, on the one hand, the Islāmic concept of consensus is interpreted as an intellectual acceptance of divine truth and, on the other hand, as an expression of trust in God and the Prophet.

We have also noted that, to a certain degree, the Islāmic concept of consensus requires the acceptance of educated opinions acquired through a thorough study of Islāmic law and through the intellectual effort known as ijtihād .

It is thus the obligation of every observant Muslim to place his trust in the wisdom of others.[^1] The entire structure of Islāmic society is based on this trust in the rulings of scholars since, for all intents and purposes, the acceptance of these religious rulings constitutes an acceptance without reservation of revealed law.

The concept of ijmā' as a source of law and doctrine implies, in an objective sense, the acceptance of a body of divinely revealed laws which must be accepted in their entirety as a manifestation of the acceptance of the sovereign authority of God. In a subjective sense, embracing divine authority represents the sanctifying flux [ barakah ] instilled by God in the human soul through the bounty bestowed upon the Prophet. Such submission is never blind and unconditional.

Blind following is unacceptable when the motives that are expounded are not sufficiently convincing or do not coincide with the inner meanings of the revelation.[^2] If, as we have said, some Islāmic tenets, mandates or principles must be accepted completely, totally and wholeheartedly, it is because they are directly ordained by the revelation, which is free of errors,[^3] and because they are based on the authority of the Prophet and the Imāms.

In Islām, in order for a norm or dictate to be accepted, it must be firmly based on God's revelation and the sunnah of his Prophet.[^4] In such cases, transcendental and ineffable reality becomes evident as soon as reason elevates itself beyond the sphere of sensible truth and attains the level of intelligent truth.