«وهذا الطريق قلنا: الإجماع ينعقد بنص البعض وسكوت الباقين»
“On this approach, consensus can arise through the statement of some and the silence of the remaining qualified scholars.”
Tacit consensus (ijma' sukuti) concerns a legal opinion publicly advanced by some qualified jurists, reaching the other qualified scholars under circumstances in which objection could and should be voiced. Within the Hanafi argument, their silence may then indicate agreement.
The conditions matter: the opinion must reach the qualified participants, a genuine opportunity to dissent must exist, and sufficient time and need for clarification must be present. The silence of the uninformed or unqualified cannot establish consensus.
Jurists differ over the proof value and precise conditions of tacit consensus. It should not be presented as a unanimously accepted principle.