So we've discussed the traditions supporting the age of 9 being the maximum age for girls to reach bulugh, and Saanei has demonstrated flaws in the traditions. Before presenting his case as to why it should be actually based on the signs of puberty (i.e. period), with a maximum at 13, he discusses the second main method that some use to justify the age of 9:
Consensus (Ijma')
In general, consensus (with conditions) is used as a source of Islamic law. The basic premise is that if everyone agrees, how can they be wrong (especially if that everyone includes the 12th Imam (AS)). I will discuss the details of consensus as a method of proving something by referring to Ayrwani's commentary on Syed Muhammad Baqir Sadr's Halaqat al-Thalitha in a later blog.
In this specific situation, the aim is to find out whether there is ijma' and if it could be used.
1. Can it be used?
Ijma’ based on narrations is not a source in itself i.e. the individuals who form the consensus used the narrations to justify their position, and thus the narrations are the proof, not the consensus.
2. Is there actually consensus?
There isn’t even consensus as there are examples in books of the early scholars that don’t even mention the age when discussing bulugh, but they put getting one’s period as the measure of bulugh.
There is no sign of age before Shaykh Tusi and those books actually had other points:
Shaykh Saduq: When a woman has her period
Sayyid Murtada: When a woman has her period
There is no hadith about when a woman has to start fasting other than when her period has started.
Regardless, the point is that without these two major scholars, there is clearly no consensus. In addition, there are other scholars in the past who have considered 10 (and 13) to be the age of bulugh.
Overall, consensus cannot be used.
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