Ijma

Ijma

A doctrine of law practice

“A means of balancing the centripetal and centrifugal forces” (Berkey, 146). Ijma is a doctrine of the practice of law in Sunni Islam, and is seen as one of the largest forces of Islamic law under the Koran, and even in some cases could trump the Koran’s teachings. Jurists practicing Ijma being able to give worse punishments for crimes such as adultery - such as stoning - rather than the more lenient punishment explicitly expressed by the Koran.

Jonathan P. Berkey

Berkey, Jonathan P. The Formation of Islam (Cambridge University Press, 2002).

Cambridge University Press

Arabic

Glossary Term