تلقّى النبيُّ ﷺ الوحيَ من الله تعالى وبلّغه إلى جميع الناس. وكان المسلمون الذين يعيشون بالقرب منه ﷺ هم الصحابة رضي الله عنهم. فلما هاجر النبي ﷺ إلى المدينة ذهبوا معه. وكان مسلمو مكة هم المهاجرين، ومسلمو المدينة هم الأنصار. تلقّى ﷺ الرسالةَ من الله تعالى وأُمر بتبليغها. يقول الله تعالى في القرآن:

The Prophet (saw) received the revelation from Allah (swt) and delivered it to all the people. The Muslims who used to live close to him (saw) were the Sahabah (ra). When the Prophet (saw) migrated to Madinah they went along with him. The Muslims of Makkah were the Muhajireen and the Muslims of Madinah were the Ansar. He (saw) received the Message from Allah (swt) and was ordered to convey it. Allah (swt) says in the Qur‟an:

﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ ۖ وَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُ﴾ ...

“O Messenger, deliver the Message that was sent down to you from your Rabb, and if you did not do it, you did not convey His Message....” (TMQ Al-Ma‟ida: 67)

وَأَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ

“And we sent down to you the Zikr (the Qur‟an), so that you would explain to mankind, that which was sent down to them” (TMQ An-Nahl: 44)

مع هذه الآيات في الاعتبار، هناك نقاط معينة يجب ذكرها۔

With these Ayahs in mind, there are certain points that need to be mentioned:

1. لم يكن أحد يُفتي في حضرة النبي ﷺ، لأنهم كانوا يعلمون أنه ﷺ هو المرجع.

1. No one would give a Fatwa in the presence of the Prophet, since they knew that he (saw) was the authority.

2. وَقَدْ كَانَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ يُعْطِي الصَّحَابَةَ (رضي الله عنهم) أَمْرًا، فَيَفْهَمُهُ الصَّحَابَةُ (رضي الله عنهم) عَلَى وَجْهَيْنِ مُخْتَلِفَيْنِ. وَقَدْ أَقَرَّ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ كِلَا الفَرِيقَيْنِ عَلَى اتِّبَاعِ فَهْمِهِ. وَمِثَالُ ذَلِكَ مَا سَبَقَ ذِكْرُهُ فِي حَادِثَةِ رُجُوعِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ مِنْ غَزْوَةِ الخَنْدَقِ، حِينَ أَمَرَ الصَّحَابَةَ أَلَّا يُصَلُّوا العَصْرَ إِلَّا فِي بَنِي قُرَيْظَةَ.

2. Sometimes the Prophet would give the Sahabah (ra) an instruction, and the Sahabah (ra) would understand that instruction in two different ways. Moreover, the Prophet (saw) would approve both groups in following their understandings. An example of this has been mentioned earlier regarding the incident when the Prophet (saw) returned from the battle of Khandaq (ditch) and instructed the Sahabah not to pray Asr except in Bani Qurayzah.

من هنا نفهم أن كلتا الطائفتين من الصحابة (رضي الله عنهم) ناقشت فهمها المختلف لذات الأمر من النبي ﷺ، وأرجعته إليه ﷺ. وقد أقرّ النبي ﷺ كلا الفهمين. ومن المهم أن نلاحظ أن الاختلاف لم يقع بسبب غموض في الأمر، بل وقع بسبب قدرة اللغة العربية على حمل معانٍ وفهوم متعددة.

From this we understand that both groups of the Sahabah (ra) discussed their different understandings of the same order of the Prophet (saw), and referred it back to him (saw). The Prophet (saw) approved both understandings. It is important to note that the differences did not occur due to an ambiguity in the order; rather it occurred due to the ability of Arabic language to convey various meanings and understandings.

3. في حياة النبي ﷺ، كان الصحابة رضي الله عنهم إذا سافروا بعيدًا عنه ﷺ يجتهدون في الأحكام، ثم يعودون فيعرضون ذلك على النبي ﷺ. مثال ذلك: ما رُوِيَ عن جابر رضي الله عنه: «أن رجلًا أصابه حجر فشجّه في رأسه، ثم احتلم، فسأل أصحابه: هل تجدون لي رخصة في التيمم؟ فقالوا: ما نجد لك رخصة وأنت تقدر على الماء، فاغتسل فمات. فلما بلغ ذلك النبي ﷺ قال:

3. During the lifetime of the Prophet (saw), if the Sahabah (ra) were travelling without the Prophet (saw), they used to conduct Ijtihad, and then refer back to the Prophet (saw) when they returned. For example: It was narrated on the authority of Jabir (ra): “a man was struck by a stone that fractured his skull. Then he had a wet dream. He asked his companions - do you know of a permit (Rukhsa) for me to perform Tayammum (dry ablution)? They said, „we do not find any permit for you and you can use water.‟ He then had a bath and died. When hearing this the Prophet (saw) said:

إِنَّمَا كَانَ يَكْفِيهِ أَنْ يَتَيَمَّمَ، فَيَعْصِبَ عَلَى جُرْحِهِ خِرْقَةً ثُمَّ يَمْسَحَ عَلَيْهَا، وَيَغْسِلَ سَائِرَ جَسَدِهِ. وَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ:

“Verily, it would have sufficed for him to make Tayammum, so tie a piece of cloth around his head and wipe over it and wash the rest of his body.” And the Prophet (saw) said:

"لِمَ لَمْ يَسْأَلُوا إِذْ لَمْ يَعْلَمُوا؟ فَإِنَّمَا شِفَاءُ الْعِيِّ السُّؤَالُ." (أبو داود، وابن ماجه، وأحمد)

“Why did they not ask when they did not know. Indeed, the cure for inability and lack of knowledge is to ask.” (Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah & Ahmad)

تُبيّن النقاط السابقة أنّ القرآن الكريم والسنّة كانا المرجعين الوحيدين المقبولين عند الصحابة رضي الله عنهم، وأنّهم كانوا يرجعون إلى النبي ﷺ عند الاشتباه والتردّد.

The preceding points illustrate that the Qur‟an and the Sunnah were the only acceptable reference points for the Sahabah (ra), and that they would refer back to the Prophet (saw) in cases of uncertainty.