Nabi ﷺ menerima wahyu daripada Allah (SWT) dan menyampaikannya kepada seluruh manusia. Orang-orang Islam yang tinggal berdekatan dengan baginda ﷺ ialah para Sahabah (RA). Apabila Nabi ﷺ berhijrah ke Madinah, mereka turut mengikuti baginda ﷺ. Orang-orang Islam di Makkah dikenali sebagai Muhajirin, manakala orang-orang Islam di Madinah dikenali sebagai Ansar. Baginda ﷺ menerima Risalah daripada Allah (SWT) dan diperintahkan untuk menyampaikannya. Allah (SWT) berfirman dalam al-Quran:

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:

"Wahai Rasul, sampaikanlah apa yang telah diturunkan kepadamu dari Tuhanmu, dan jika kamu tidak melakukannya, maka kamu tidak menyampaikan risalah-Nya...." (TMQ Al-Ma'idah: 67)

“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)

"Dan Kami turunkan kepadamu Zikr (Al-Qur'an), agar engkau menerangkan kepada manusia apa yang telah diturunkan kepada mereka" (TMQ An-Nahl: 44)

“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)

Dengan memperhatikan ayat-ayat ini, terdapat beberapa perkara yang perlu disebutkan:

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

Tiada seorang pun yang akan mengeluarkan fatwa di hadapan Nabi ﷺ, kerana mereka mengetahui bahawa baginda ﷺ adalah pihak yang berkuasa.

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

2. Kadang-kadang Nabi memberikan satu arahan kepada para Sahabah (ra), lalu para Sahabah (ra) memahami arahan itu dengan dua cara yang berbeza. Lebih daripada itu, Nabi ﷺ membenarkan kedua-dua kumpulan dalam mengikut kefahaman mereka. Contoh bagi perkara ini telah disebut sebelum ini, iaitu peristiwa ketika Nabi ﷺ pulang dari peperangan Khandaq (parit) dan memberikan arahan kepada para Sahabah supaya tidak menunaikan solat Asar melainkan di Bani Quraizah.

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.

Daripada ini kita memahami bahawa kedua-dua kumpulan Sahabah (ra) membincangkan perbezaan pemahaman mereka terhadap perintah Nabi ﷺ yang sama, lalu mengembalikannya kepada baginda ﷺ. Nabi ﷺ mengiktiraf kedua-dua pemahaman tersebut. Perlu diperhatikan bahawa perbezaan itu tidak berlaku kerana perintah tersebut samar; sebaliknya ia berlaku kerana keupayaan bahasa Arab untuk menyampaikan pelbagai makna dan pemahaman.

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. Semasa hayat Nabi ﷺ, apabila para Sahabah (ra) bermusafir tanpa Nabi ﷺ, mereka biasa berijtihad, dan kemudian merujuk kepada Nabi ﷺ apabila mereka pulang. Sebagai contoh: Diriwayatkan daripada Jabir (ra): “Seorang lelaki telah dipukul dengan batu yang memecahkan tengkoraknya. Kemudian dia mengalami mimpi basah. Dia bertanya kepada sahabat-sahabatnya - adakah kamu mengetahui sebarang keringanan (Rukhsah) bagi saya untuk melakukan Tayammum (wuduk kering)? Mereka berkata, „kami tidak mendapati sebarang keringanan untuk kamu dan kamu boleh menggunakan air.‟ Maka dia pun mandi dan meninggal dunia. Apabila mendengar hal ini, Nabi ﷺ bersabda:

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:

"Sesungguhnya memadai baginya untuk bertayammum, maka ikatlah sehelai kain pada kepalanya dan sapulah ke atasnya, dan basuhlah selebihnya dari badannya." Dan Nabi ﷺ bersabda:

“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:

"Mengapa mereka tidak bertanya ketika mereka tidak tahu? Sesungguhnya ubat bagi kelemahan dan kejahilan ialah bertanya." (Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah & Ahmad)

“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)

Perkara-perkara yang disebutkan sebelum ini menunjukkan bahawa Al-Qur'an dan Sunnah adalah satu-satunya rujukan yang diterima oleh para Sahabah (ra), dan bahawa mereka akan kembali merujuk kepada Nabi ﷺ apabila timbul keraguan.

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.