Al-Waadih Fee Usool ul-Fiqh by Muhammad Hussein Abdullah

The Ra’y (opinion) of the Sahaabiy is to be viewed from the perspective of it being his Ijtihaad and as such it is not used as a proof upon the basis of it being a Daleel Shar’iy. That is because Allah (swt) said:

The Mafhoom (implied meaning) of this Aayah is that you do not take anything that has come to you from other than the Messenger of Allah (saw). And Allah (swt) said:

Therefore, at the time of the occurrence of difference, referring back to the Kitaab of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger is obligatory. Referring to the opinion of the Sahaabiy or his Ijtihaad or judgments that he has passed does not however fall under the meaning of referring back to Allah and His Messenger.

In addition, the Sahaabah (Ridwaan Allah ‘Alaihim), agreed (Ijmaa’) upon the permissibility of the Mujtahid Sahaabah holding contrary opinions to each other. If their opinions and Ijtihaadaat had represented a Hujjah then that would not have been the case. The Sahaabah (rah) differed in Masaa’il (issues) and they held opinions contrary to one another like in the Mas’alah of At-Talaaq (divorce) by three pronouncements where Abu Bakr and ‘Umar differed or like the issue of the distribution of the land of Iraq amongst the fighters where ‘Umar and Bilaal differed. From this, it is evident that the opinions of the Sahaabah and their Ijtihaadaat and judgments that they passed do not represent a Daleel from amongst the Adillah Ash-Shar’iyah like the Kitaab, the Sunnah and Al-Qiyaas.

However, the Sahaabah occupy a standing in Islaam and it is the highest standing after the Anbiyaa (prophets) as Allah (swt) has praised them explicitly in the Qur’aan and the Ahaadeeth.

Due to that, the Muslims were very concerned to collect their opinions, Ijtihaadaat and judgments (or verdicts) and they related them just as they related the Prophetic Hadeeth. As such, there is no book of Hadeeth except that it includes within it opinions of the Sahaabah and that includes the Hadeeth collections of Al-Bukhaari, Muslim and the Muwatta amongst others.

The reality of the matter is that the Ijtihaadaat of the Sahaabah are closer to the Deen and the Sunnah As-Saheehah as compared to the Ijtihaadaat of others who came after them. That is because it is quite possible that the Sahaabiy, when providing his opinion, had heard it spoken from the Nabi (saw) or from another Sahaabah who had heard it from the Messenger (saw). He would have provided the verdict of the Hukm in this case without relating the specific Daleel that it was based upon.

It is also allowed (or possible) for the Sahaabiy to be unique in respect to his understanding of the Nass (text) of an Aayah or Hadeeth in a manner that none after him understood it. That would be due to the completeness of his knowledge of the language and the implications of the wordings or due to being aware of the Sabab An-Nuzool (cause or reason of revelation) of an Aayah or Hadeeth as witnessed or heard by him. Therefore, his Ijtihaad would have more weight than the Ijtihaad of those who came after him in every time period and generation.

All of this makes the Ijtihaadaat of the Sahaabah and their opinions take the place of a distinguished standing in relation to those who followed them in later times. Even if these opinions have not reached the level of being representative of a Daleel they nevertheless represent a higher level or ranking than the Ijtihaadaat of others. For that reason, their opinion or Ijtihaad is considered to be a Hukm Shar’iy and it is valid to follow it and imitate it.

Consequently, it is important for Muslims in every time period to be greatly concerned with the opinions of the Sahaabah, their Ijtihaadaat and their judgements in respect to their narrations, recordings and making Taqleed to them.

The judgements passed by the Sahaabah, their Ijtihaadaat and Araa’ (opinions) are representative of the greatest Islamic legislative heritage after the Shar’iyah texts and after the Ijmaa’ of the Sahaabah (rah).

They were those who guarded the Kitaab of Allah Ta’Aalaa and transmitted the Aqwaal (statements) of His Messenger Muhammad (saw) to those who came after them. They were therefore the most knowledgeable of people in respect to the Shar’a of Allah and the nearest to His guidance. Their Ijmaa’ (consensus) was also a Hujjah for us and so whoever follows them and proceeds upon what they proceeded upon would be from amongst those Allah (swt) has said about: