Masahaba (ra) walikuwa wakifanya ijtihadi wakati wa Mtume wa Allah ﷺ na walitofautiana katika kuchambua hukumu za kisheria, na Mtume ﷺ alikubali hili. Hili linaonekana katika matukio yafuatayo:

The Sahabah (ra) used to make Ijtihad in the time of the Messenger of Allah (saw) and differ in their deduction of Ahkams and the Messenger (saw) accepted this. This can be seen in the following incidents:

1) Bukhari alisimulia kutoka kwa Aisha kwamba Nabii ﷺ alipomaliza vita vya Khandaq (handaki) na kuweka silaha zake chini na kuoga, Jibril alikuja akasema, "Umeweka silaha chini? Kwa Allah, sisi malaika bado hatujaweka silaha zetu chini. Kwa hiyo nenda kwao." Mtume ﷺ akauliza, "Nikaende wapi?" Ndipo Jibril akaelekeza upande wa Banu Quraydhah. Nabii ﷺ akamwagiza Mu'adhdhin atoe Adhana, naye akawatangazia watu:

1) Bukhari narrated from Aisha that when the Prophet (saw) returned from the battle of Khandaq (ditch) and laid down his arms and took a bath. Jibreel came and said, “You have laid down your arms? By Allah, we angels have not laid them down yet. So set out for them.” The Messenger (saw) asked, “where to go?” so Jibreel pointed towards Banu Qurayzah. The Prophet (saw) instructed the Mu`azzin to give Azan and so he announced to the people:

"Yeyote anayemwamini Allah na Siku ya Hukumu, asiswali Alasiri isipokuwa katika Bani Qurayzah." Basi wakaelekea kwenye ngome za Bani Qurayzah, lakini walikuwa na ufahamu tofauti wa kile ambacho Mtume ﷺ alichowaambia. Baadhi yao walichukua maana ya moja kwa moja, wala hawakuswali mpaka walipofika Bani Qurayzah baada ya Maghrib. Na wengine walichukulia kwamba walitakiwa kwenda huko haraka, basi wakaswali Alasiri huko Madina au njiani. Mtume ﷺ aliporipotiwa jambo hili, alikubali kitendo cha wote wao.32

“Whosoever believes in Allah and the Day of judgement he should not pray Asr except in Bani Qurayzah.” So thy headed towards the fortresses of Bani Qurayzah, however they had different understandings of what the Messenger (saw) had said to them. Some took the literal meaning and they did not pray until they reached Bani Qurayzah after Maghrib. And others took it to mean that they should go there quickly, so they prayed Asr in Madinah or on the way. When the Messenger (saw) heard about this he accepted the action of all them.32

2) Kauli ya Mtume ﷺ alipomtuma Mu'adh kuwa Qadhi huko Yemen:

2) The saying of the Prophet (saw) when he sent Mu‟adh as Qadi to Yemen:

"Utahukumu kwa msingi gani?" Akasema: Kwa Kitabu cha Allah. Nabii ﷺ akasema: Usipokipata humo? Akasema: Kwa Sunnah ya Mtume wa Allah ﷺ. Akasema: Na usipoipata? Akasema: "Nitatumia Ijtihad yangu." Naye ﷺ akasema:

“By what will you pass judgement?‟ He said: By the Book of Allah. The Prophet (saw) said: If you do not find it there? He said: By the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saw). He said: And if you do not find it? He said: 'I will exercise my own Ijtihad‟. He (saw) said:

"Sifa njema zote ni za Allah, ambaye amemfanya mjumbe wa Mjumbe wa Allah ﷺ aendane na yale ambayo Allah na Mjumbe wake wanayapenda."33

“Praise be to Allah who has made the messenger of the Messenger of Allah to accord with what Allah and His Messenger loves.”33

3) Hadithi ya Mtume ﷺ:

3) The Hadith of the Messenger (saw):

"Ikiwa hakimu atatoa hukumu na akafanya ijtihad, kisha akawa sahihi, basi atapata thawabu mbili. Na akikosea, atapata thawabu moja."34

“If a judge passes judgment and makes Ijtihad and he is right then he will have two rewards. And if he makes a mistake he will have one.”34

4) Mtume wa Allah ﷺ alimfanya Sa‟d b. Mu‟adh kuwa hakimu juu ya Bani Qurayzah, naye akatoa hukumu kwamba wauawe na watoto wao wachukuliwe kuwa mateka. Mtume ﷺ alisema:

4) The Messenger of Allah (saw) made Sa‟d b. Mu‟adh to judge over Bani Qurayzah so he gave the judgment that they should be killed and their offspring to be taken prisoners. The Messenger (saw) said:

"Umetoa hukumu inayotoka juu ya mbingu saba."35

“You have given a judgment that is from above the seven heavens.”35

Kutokana na mifano hii tunaona kwamba Maswahaba walikuwa wakifanya ijtihadi wakati wa Mtume ﷺ, na kwamba yeye alikuwa akikubali ijtihadi zao na kuwaambia kwamba yule aliyepata sahihi atapata thawabu mbili, na yule aliyekosea atapata thawabu moja.

From these examples we can see that the Sahabah used to make Ijtihad in the time of the Messenger (saw) and that he used to accept their Ijtihads and tell them that the one who got it right will get two rewards while the one who got it wrong will get one.