Which term describes consensus of Muslim scholars on legal issues?

In Islamic jurisprudence, various sources and methodologies are employed to derive legal rulings. The term that describes the consensus of Muslim scholars on legal issues is Ijma', often transliterated as Jima. It is considered a secondary source of Islamic law, after the Quran and Sunnah, signifying a unanimous agreement among qualified jurists on a specific legal ruling, thereby establishing its authority.

• Qiyas refers to analogical reasoning, where a ruling for a new issue is derived by analogy from a ruling found in the Quran or Sunnah for a similar issue, not consensus.
• Ijtihad is the independent reasoning or interpretation of Islamic law by a qualified jurist to derive a ruling, representing the *process* of derivation, not the collective agreement.
• Fatwa is a non-binding legal opinion issued by an individual qualified jurist (mufti), not a consensus of scholars.