Is the statement of a Companion considered a proof, and is there a difference between his statement and his action?
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The questioner : Regarding trimming the beard, is the statement of a Companion considered a proof, or is there a difference between the action of a Companion and the action of the Salaf?
And there is also a hadith in *The Hijab of the Muslim Woman*. You have done well, O Shaykh: Good, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered them to differ from them, saying: .
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : What is the meaning of the hadith, and how do you reconcile this with that?
The Shaykh : First: The statement of a Companion is one thing, and his action, which is considered an explanation, is another thing.
Whether the statement of a Companion is a proof or not, we will leave this issue aside for now. Rather, the action of Ibn 'Umar is related to another issue, which is:
Is the narrator more knowledgeable about his narration than others, or are others more knowledgeable about it than its narrator?!
There are many rules, and the matter may become confused between some of them. For example, this is the third rule: "Is the criterion the narrator's narration or his opinion?": So we have three matters:
We have the question of whether the statement of a Companion is used as a proof or not; this is a statement.
Whether the action of the Companion who is the narrator of a hadith is used as a proof or not.
Whether the action of a Companion is used as a proof if it contradicts his hadith; this is a third issue.
There is no doubt that the truth in this third issue is: the criterion is his narration, not his opinion.
But the second issue, which is the middle one, is the exact opposite of this: Is the criterion the narrator's opinion and understanding, or the understanding of others regarding his narration?!
And there is also a hadith in *The Hijab of the Muslim Woman*. You have done well, O Shaykh:
That the Majus trim their beards
أن المجوس يقصون لحاهمLet your beards grow and differ from the People of the Book
أعفوا عثانينكم وخالفوا أهل الكتابThe Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : What is the meaning of the hadith, and how do you reconcile this with that?
The Shaykh : First: The statement of a Companion is one thing, and his action, which is considered an explanation, is another thing.
Whether the statement of a Companion is a proof or not, we will leave this issue aside for now. Rather, the action of Ibn 'Umar is related to another issue, which is:
Is the narrator more knowledgeable about his narration than others, or are others more knowledgeable about it than its narrator?!
There are many rules, and the matter may become confused between some of them. For example, this is the third rule: "Is the criterion the narrator's narration or his opinion?": So we have three matters:
We have the question of whether the statement of a Companion is used as a proof or not; this is a statement.
Whether the action of the Companion who is the narrator of a hadith is used as a proof or not.
Whether the action of a Companion is used as a proof if it contradicts his hadith; this is a third issue.
There is no doubt that the truth in this third issue is: the criterion is his narration, not his opinion.
But the second issue, which is the middle one, is the exact opposite of this: Is the criterion the narrator's opinion and understanding, or the understanding of others regarding his narration?!