Ra'y (maoni) ya Sahaabiy inapaswa kuangaliwa kwa mtazamo wa kuwa ni Ijtihaad yake, na kwa hivyo haitumiwi kama ushahidi kwa msingi wa kuwa ni Daleel Shar'iy. Hiyo ni kwa sababu Allah (SWT) amesema:

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:

Mafhoom (maana iliyofichika) ya Aya hii ni kwamba huchukui chochote kinachokujia kutoka kwa mtu mwingine isipokuwa Mtume wa Allah ﷺ. Na Allah (SWT) amesema:

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:

Kwa hiyo, wakati tofauti za kimtazamo zinapotokea, ni wajibu kurejea kwenye Kitabu cha Allah na Sunnah ya Mtume Wake ﷺ. Kurejea kwenye maoni ya Sahaabiy, au ijtihaad yake, au hukumu alizozitoa, hata hivyo, hakumo katika maana ya kurejea kwa Allah na Mtume Wake ﷺ.

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.

Zaidi ya hayo, Maswahaba (Ridhwaanullaahi 'alayhim) walikubaliana (Ijmaa') juu ya kuruhusiwa kwa Maswahaba wa Mujtahid kushikilia maoni yanayopingana wao kwa wao. Lau maoni yao na Ijtihaadaat zao zingekuwa ni Hujja, basi hali isingekuwa hivyo. Maswahaba (Radhiya Allaahu 'anhum) walitofautiana katika Masaa'il (masuala) na kushikilia maoni yanayopingana, kama katika Mas'alah ya At-Talaaq (talaka) kwa tamko la mara tatu ambapo Abu Bakr na 'Umar walitofautiana, au kama katika suala la kugawanywa kwa ardhi ya Iraq miongoni mwa wapiganaji ambapo 'Umar na Bilaal walitofautiana. Kutokana na hili, ni wazi kwamba maoni ya Maswahaba, Ijtihaadaat zao na hukumu walizozitoa si Daleel miongoni mwa Adillah Ash-Shar'iyyah kama Kitabu, Sunnah na Qiyaas.

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.

Hata hivyo, Maswahaba wana nafasi ya juu katika Uislamu, na ni nafasi ya juu zaidi baada ya Manabii (Mitume), kwa kuwa Allah (SWT) amewasifu waziwazi katika Qur'aan na katika Hadiyth.

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.

Kwa sababu hiyo, Waislamu walikuwa na hamu kubwa ya kukusanya maoni yao, ijtihadi zao na hukumu zao (au maamuzi yao), na waliyapokea kama walivyopokea Hadithi za Mtume ﷺ. Hivyo basi, hakuna kitabu cha Hadithi ambacho hakijumuishi ndani yake maoni ya Maswahaba, na hilo linajumuisha mikusanyo ya Hadithi ya Al-Bukhaari, Muslim na Muwatta, pamoja na nyingine.