Is it a condition for the validity of a Companion's statement and its precedence over analogical reasoning and independent legal reasoning that it be well-known, or is it sufficient that there is no contradicting statement from the Companions?

The questioner : Regarding the statement of a Companion, if there is no one who contradicts it, you mentioned that this is on the condition that this statement is well-known from the Companion. Is the condition of being well-known necessary, or if a Companion said something and we do not know of anyone who contradicted it, and there is no refutation of it from the Book, the Sunnah, or scholarly consensus, does it take precedence over analogical reasoning and independent legal reasoning?

The Shaykh : There is no doubt that the statement of a Companion, if there is no one who contradicts it—and naturally, the first thing that falls under this condition is that it is not contrary to the Sunnah—is more blessed, more beneficial, and more correct than the statement of those who came after him. I hold to this statement, but I cannot obligate others to follow what I say. What I have become convinced of, in the end, is that I use the statement of a Companion as evidence for myself, subject to the condition mentioned earlier. If the statement of a Companion differs from the statement of an imam among the imams of the Muslims, the statement of the Companion is more beloved to me than the statement of that imam. However, there is also a need for some detail here. If a group of the imams of the Muslims contradicted this Companion in his ruling, then our initial position is weakened, and we may lean toward the other position. The truth is that what I want to advise students of knowledge is not to imagine that it is possible to be certain of an opinion in every issue, because the door of independent legal reasoning must remain open. But every person has the right to offer their opinion and present their view, even if they prefer it to the opinion of others. In brief, if the statement of a Companion differs from the statement of a Successor or an imam among the imams of the Muslims, the statement of the Companion is the one I rely on. But if there are many statements from well-known imams of jurisprudence and knowledge contradicting this Companion, then at that time we have a different position. In the name of Allah.

The questioner: Our Shaykh.