In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “called ikhtilaf”. Today it says “arabic term referring to the consensus or agreement of the islamic community on a point of islamic law”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
Ijmāʿ ( Arabic , إجماع) refers to the consensus of the ummah , the community of Muslims , those practicing Islam , or of the ulema , those learned in the relevant topic. Islamic law prescribes specific means of consensus decision making which Muslims are to follow in making and enforcing law.1The hadith "My community will never agree upon an error" is often cited as support for the validity of ijma.2Sunni Muslims regard ijma as the fourth fundamental source of law, after Qur'an , Sunnah , and qiyas (analogy). See also : Five Pillars of Islam , deliberative democracy , ijtihad3
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16052717.
The opening as it stood in 2010 4 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Ijmā' (إجماع) is an Arabic term referring ideally to the consensus of the scholars of Islam.The hadith of Muhammad which states that "My community will never agree upon an error" is often cited as support for the validity of ijmā'.Sunni Muslims regard ijmā' as the third fundamental source of Sharia law, after the divine revelation of the Qur'an , the prophetic practice or Sunnah .The analogical reasoning or qiyas is described as fourth source in Sunni Islam, whereas Shi'a Islam uses 'aql (intellect).Many conservative Muslim writers have claimed that the use of ijmā' makes Islamic law compatible with democracy .Usuli Shia accepts ijmā' under restricted conditions as a source of Islamic law .Technically, it is “the unanimous doctrine and opinion of the recognized religious authorities at any given time”.Various proponents of liberal movements within Islam criticize the traditional view that ijmā' is only a consensus among traditional Islamic scholars ( ulema ).They claim that truly democratic consensus should involve the entire community rather than a small and conservative clerical class, especially since there is no hierarchical system in Islam.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 368170851.
The opening as it stood in 2015 9 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Ijmāʿ (إجماع) is an Arabic term referring to the consensus or agreement of the Muslim community basically on religious issues.Various schools of thought within Islamic jurisprudence may define this consensus to be that of the first generation of Muslims only; or the consensus of the first three generations of Muslims ; or the consensus of the jurists and scholars of the Muslim world, or scholarly consensus; or the consensus of all the Muslim world, both scholars and laymen.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 667999259.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Ijmāʿ ( ) is an Arabic term referring to the consensus or agreement of Islamic scholars on a point of Islamic law . Various schools of thought within Islamic jurisprudence may define this consensus to be that of the first generation of Muslims only; or the consensus of the first three generations of Muslims ; or the consensus of the jurists and scholars of the Muslim world, or scholarly consensus; or the consensus of all the Muslim world, both scholars and laymen. Sunni Muslims regard ijmā' as the third fundamental source of Sharia law , after the Qur'an , and the Sunnah .The opposite of ijma (i.e., lack of consensus on a point of Islamic law) is called ikhtilaf .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 962240773.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Arabic term for agreement regarding Islamic law Ijmāʿ ( ʾiǧmāʿ , " consensus ") is an Arabic term referring to the consensus or agreement of the Islamic community on a point of Islamic law .Sunni Muslims regard ijmā' as one of the secondary sources of Sharia law , after the Qur'an , and the Sunnah .Exactly what group should represent the Muslim community in reaching the consensus is not agreed on by the various schools of Islamic jurisprudence.Some believe it should be the Sahaba (the first generation of Muslims) only; others the consensus of the Salaf (the first three generations of Muslims); or the consensus of Islamic lawyers , the jurists and scholars of the Muslim world, i.e. scholarly consensus; or the consensus of all the Muslim world, both scholars and lay people. The opposite of ijma (i.e., lack of consensus on a point of Islamic law) is called ikhtilaf .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1177011462.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Arabic term for consensus in Islamic jurisprudence Ijma ( Arabic : إجماع , romanized : ijmāʿ , lit. ' consensus ' , IPA: [ʔid͡ʒ.maːʕ] ) is an Arabic term referring to the consensus or agreement of the Islamic community on a point of Islamic law . Sunni Muslims regard it as one of the secondary sources of Sharia law , after the Qur'an , and the Sunnah . Exactly what group should represent the Muslim community in reaching the consensus is not agreed on by the various schools of Islamic jurisprudence. Some believe it should be the Sahaba (the first generation of Muslims) only; others the consensus of the Salaf (the first three generations of Muslims); or the consensus of Islamic lawyers , the jurists and scholars of the Muslim world, i.e. scholarly consensus; or the consensus of all the Muslim world, both scholars and lay people. The opposite of Ijma (i.e., lack of consensus on a point of Islamic law) is called ikhtilaf .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1290398480. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “called ikhtilaf”. Today it says “arabic term referring to the consensus or agreement of the islamic community on a point of islamic law”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since October 7, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
called ikhtilaf
Now
arabic term referring to the consensus or agreement of the islamic community on a point of islamic law
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
