Is the statement of a Companion or one of the four Imams a proof?
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The questioner : The questioner asks: Is the statement of a Companion or one of the four Imams a proof?
The Shaykh : As for the four Imams, the statement of any one of them is not a proof. Rather, we argue for their statements, not with their statements. Pay attention, O student of grammar, to the difference between the two phrases. What is the difference between them? I repeat: The statements of the four Imams are not a proof; rather, we argue for their statements, not with their statements.
The questioner : Their statements require evidence, but they are not themselves evidence to be cited.
The Shaykh : That is to say, if they make a statement, we say to them: "Present the evidence," because we argue for their statements, not with them. It is true that such Imams have weight and value in their statements, and contradicting them requires knowing that they contradict the evidence. However, this does not mean that we reject everything they said. But we do not cite the statement of any of the Imams as a proof against anyone. As for the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), some scholars said: "Their statements are not a proof." Other scholars said: "Their statements are a proof." And some scholars specified: "The statement of one known among them for jurisprudence and knowledge is a proof, while the statement of one not known for knowledge is not a proof." Despite this, all agreed that the statement of a Companion—or rather, the statement of any Companion whose statement is considered a proof—is subject to two conditions. The first condition is that it does not contradict evidence from the Book or the Sunnah. The second condition is that it is not contradicted by another Companion. If it contradicts evidence from the Book and Sunnah, it must be rejected. If it contradicts the statement of another Companion, we resort to weighing the two, looking at which is stronger, and we adopt the stronger position. For this reason, Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) said: This is despite the fact that the statements of Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) are a proof. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Muslim 681 And it was reported that he said: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3662Hasan (Darussalam).
The Shaykh : As for the four Imams, the statement of any one of them is not a proof. Rather, we argue for their statements, not with their statements. Pay attention, O student of grammar, to the difference between the two phrases. What is the difference between them? I repeat: The statements of the four Imams are not a proof; rather, we argue for their statements, not with their statements.
The questioner : Their statements require evidence, but they are not themselves evidence to be cited.
The Shaykh : That is to say, if they make a statement, we say to them: "Present the evidence," because we argue for their statements, not with them. It is true that such Imams have weight and value in their statements, and contradicting them requires knowing that they contradict the evidence. However, this does not mean that we reject everything they said. But we do not cite the statement of any of the Imams as a proof against anyone. As for the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), some scholars said: "Their statements are not a proof." Other scholars said: "Their statements are a proof." And some scholars specified: "The statement of one known among them for jurisprudence and knowledge is a proof, while the statement of one not known for knowledge is not a proof." Despite this, all agreed that the statement of a Companion—or rather, the statement of any Companion whose statement is considered a proof—is subject to two conditions. The first condition is that it does not contradict evidence from the Book or the Sunnah. The second condition is that it is not contradicted by another Companion. If it contradicts evidence from the Book and Sunnah, it must be rejected. If it contradicts the statement of another Companion, we resort to weighing the two, looking at which is stronger, and we adopt the stronger position. For this reason, Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) said: