What is the meaning of Ijma' (consensus) and its status in Islam, how is it applied in the current era, and what are the methods of deduction when evidences contradict?

Ijma' (consensus) is the agreement of all the mujtahids (qualified scholars capable of independent reasoning) of the Islamic Ummah after the death of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, in any given era, on any matter whatsoever. It is one of the fundamental principles of the religion, and the authority of Ijma' is derived from the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Several verses and hadiths have indicated its authoritative nature and the infallibility of the Ummah from error, which affirms its elevated status in Islamic legislation.

Ijma' is divided into definitive (qat'i) and presumptive (zanni). Definitive Ijma' cannot contradict a religious text, whereas presumptive Ijma' may be used as an argument but does not override known texts.

Among the benefits of Ijma' are: clarifying the magnitude of agreed-upon matters to prevent deviant people from corrupting the religion, instilling complete confidence in the Islamic religion, and elevating the rank of a presumptive text to definitiveness.

As for the possibility of Ijma' occurring, the majority of scholars believe it is possible, and this is the correct view. They hold that Ijma' has occurred in many issues. Despite the existence of differing opinions, the correct view is that Ijma' is achievable whenever scholarly bodies are able to gather the opinions of the mujtahids.

In cases of conflicting evidence, scholars resort to reconciling the texts or preferring one over the other. If this is not possible, the student of knowledge pauses until the matter becomes clear to him.