He ceaselessly argued that the claims of his opponents - the representatives of the older schools - to have arrived at a state of general Ijma were quite unacceptable; that, apart from certain basic facts, like the number of prayers, etc., in fact not Ijma' but difference prevailed on almost all issues, and that no formal council of Muslim representatives to reach agreements had been ever convened nor was such a step feasible 21 He noncommittally states the opponents' view - and on occasions only reluctantly allows it, viz. that the early Caliphs, especially Abu Bakr and 'Umar, used to make public appeals for people to come forward with information about the Prophetic Sunnah when specific issues arose about which the Caliphs themselves were not in possession of such information.
Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani anasema katika kujibu hilo: .Neno lake .akaamrishwa Bilal. hii mara nyingi katika riwaya nyingi ni katika mafu.uul, watu wa Usuul na watu wa Hadith wamekhitilafiana katika kuifanya tamko hili kwa sigha ya raf.u, na hakika ilivyo dhahiri ni kwamba makusudio ya kuamrishwa, katika jambo la kisharia basi ni lazima kumfuata Mtume (s.a.w.)..72 Hivyo utaona kuwa Ibn Hajar anaeleza wazi wazi kuwa amri katika ibada inatoka kwa yule mwenye kutoa amri katika mambo ya kiibada na anatilia nguvu hilo kuwa ni lenye kuwafikiwa.