The Statement of a Companion and Its Evidentiary Value
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
His Eminence the Shaykh: Some people may cite the statement, action, or fatwa of a Companion as evidence for a ruling on a specific issue, even when there is a more comprehensive, stronger, and clearer proof in the Sunnah than the Companion’s action. They argue that this is following the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, and that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us to follow it.
Is the action of a Companion considered part of the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, or not?
First of all—may Allah reward you—the scholars differ on whether the statement of a Companion is a proof or not.Some of the scholars said: There is no proof except in what Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said.For this reason, Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Shura: 10] And He said: [An-Nisa: 59] So He did not mention a third party. Therefore, the statement of a Companion is like the statement of anyone else; it is not a proof. However, there is no doubt that the Companions are closer to the truth than those who came after them.
And some of them said: The statement of a Companion is a proof if he is from the people of knowledge and jurisprudence; because, as you know, if a Bedouin came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), accepted Islam, and then returned to his camels, he is a Companion, but he may be ignorant of many matters of knowledge. However, if the Companion is one of the jurists known for his jurisprudence, then his statement is a proof with two conditions: The first condition is that it does not contradict the statement of Allah and His Messenger; if it contradicts the statement of Allah and His Messenger, it must be discarded and what Allah and His Messenger said must be adopted.
Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: [Soon stones from the sky will fall upon you,I say: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “And you say: Abu Bakr said, and Umar said!!”],And Allah the Exalted said: [An-Nur: 63] Meaning: regarding the command of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): [An-Nur: 63] Imam Ahmad said: “Do you know what fitnah (trial) is? Fitnah is shirk (associating partners with Allah); perhaps if he rejects part of the Messenger’s statement, something of deviation may enter his heart and he may perish. We ask Allah for safety.”
The second condition: It must not contradict the statement of another Companion; if it contradicts the statement of another Companion, it is obligatory to look at the stronger position; because the statement of one is not more deserving of acceptance than the other. But we look at the stronger position. If one of the two who differ is lower than the other in jurisprudence regarding the religion of Allah, the more knowledgeable one is preferred.And this is the implication of the statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): “(Hold fast to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs)” So he first mentioned his Sunnah; because his Sunnah (peace and blessings be upon him) takes precedence over everything.
An example of that is: It is reported from Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that when he was in Hajj or Umrah, he would grasp his beard and cut what exceeded a handful. This appears to contradict the statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): “(Let the beards grow long and trim the mustaches)”. So the action of Ibn Umar here is not cited as evidence against the generality of the statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); because the statement of the Messenger takes precedence over the action of Ibn Umar. Furthermore, Ibn Umar used to do this when he performed Hajj or Umrah, not absolutely.So some people say: If a general text comes from the Messenger and there is an action of a Companion, then this general text is specified by the action of the Companion.
But this is not correct.Rather, some scholars said: The action of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) itself does not specify the generality of his statement.And among those who held this latter view: Al-Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him).Such as the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “(When you go to the place of relief, do not face the qiblah with your excrement or urine, and do not turn your backs to it, but go east or west)”. This hadith is general regarding the desert and buildings.And the hadith of Ibn Umar: “(I climbed up to the house of Hafsa one day and saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) relieving himself facing the direction of Sham and with his back to the Ka'bah)”. This implies that there is no harm in turning one’s back to the Ka'bah if a person is in a building.Some of the scholars said: The consideration is the generality of the wording: “(Do not face the qiblah and do not turn your backs to it)”. And this action of the Messenger does not specify the general text; because it is possible that this was specific to him, that he had an excuse, or that he forgot, or something similar.
The important thing is that this rule—also—And that some scholars say: The action of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) does not specify his statement. So the generality of his statement is preferred over the specificity of his action due to the possibilities we mentioned. However, the correct view is that his action (peace and blessings be upon him) specifies his statement; because all of it is Sunnah. The Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is his statement, his action, and his approval. As for the action of others, it does not specify his statement.
Is the action of a Companion considered part of the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, or not?
First of all—may Allah reward you—the scholars differ on whether the statement of a Companion is a proof or not.Some of the scholars said: There is no proof except in what Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said.For this reason, Allah the Exalted said:
And in anything over which you disagree - its ruling is [to be referred] to Allah.
وَمَا اخْتَلَفْتُمْ فِيهِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ فَحُكْمُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِAnd if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger
فَإِنْ تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِAnd some of them said: The statement of a Companion is a proof if he is from the people of knowledge and jurisprudence; because, as you know, if a Bedouin came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), accepted Islam, and then returned to his camels, he is a Companion, but he may be ignorant of many matters of knowledge. However, if the Companion is one of the jurists known for his jurisprudence, then his statement is a proof with two conditions: The first condition is that it does not contradict the statement of Allah and His Messenger; if it contradicts the statement of Allah and His Messenger, it must be discarded and what Allah and His Messenger said must be adopted.
Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: [Soon stones from the sky will fall upon you,I say: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “And you say: Abu Bakr said, and Umar said!!”],And Allah the Exalted said:
So let those beware who dissent from the Prophet's order
فَلْيَحْذَرِ الَّذِينَ يُخَالِفُونَ عَنْ أَمْرِهِlest fitnah strike them or a painful punishment.
أَنْ تُصِيبَهُمْ فِتْنَةٌ أَوْ يُصِيبَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌThe second condition: It must not contradict the statement of another Companion; if it contradicts the statement of another Companion, it is obligatory to look at the stronger position; because the statement of one is not more deserving of acceptance than the other. But we look at the stronger position. If one of the two who differ is lower than the other in jurisprudence regarding the religion of Allah, the more knowledgeable one is preferred.And this is the implication of the statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): “(Hold fast to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs)” So he first mentioned his Sunnah; because his Sunnah (peace and blessings be upon him) takes precedence over everything.
An example of that is: It is reported from Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that when he was in Hajj or Umrah, he would grasp his beard and cut what exceeded a handful. This appears to contradict the statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): “(Let the beards grow long and trim the mustaches)”. So the action of Ibn Umar here is not cited as evidence against the generality of the statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); because the statement of the Messenger takes precedence over the action of Ibn Umar. Furthermore, Ibn Umar used to do this when he performed Hajj or Umrah, not absolutely.So some people say: If a general text comes from the Messenger and there is an action of a Companion, then this general text is specified by the action of the Companion.
But this is not correct.Rather, some scholars said: The action of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) itself does not specify the generality of his statement.And among those who held this latter view: Al-Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him).Such as the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “(When you go to the place of relief, do not face the qiblah with your excrement or urine, and do not turn your backs to it, but go east or west)”. This hadith is general regarding the desert and buildings.And the hadith of Ibn Umar: “(I climbed up to the house of Hafsa one day and saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) relieving himself facing the direction of Sham and with his back to the Ka'bah)”. This implies that there is no harm in turning one’s back to the Ka'bah if a person is in a building.Some of the scholars said: The consideration is the generality of the wording: “(Do not face the qiblah and do not turn your backs to it)”. And this action of the Messenger does not specify the general text; because it is possible that this was specific to him, that he had an excuse, or that he forgot, or something similar.
The important thing is that this rule—also—And that some scholars say: The action of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) does not specify his statement. So the generality of his statement is preferred over the specificity of his action due to the possibilities we mentioned. However, the correct view is that his action (peace and blessings be upon him) specifies his statement; because all of it is Sunnah. The Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is his statement, his action, and his approval. As for the action of others, it does not specify his statement.