What is the ruling on the ijtihad of the Companions, and do they have the status of marfu' if they are related to the unseen, with clarification of some examples of this, such as "the ruling on drinking while standing"?

The Shaykh : through ijtihad, and only through a report from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
Some opinions, or ijtihad, from the Companions may be based on ijtihad, but it is acceptable ijtihad because there is nothing to contradict it. It may also be from the category of tawqif (reporting from the Prophet), but the tawqif in it may not be apparent or clear, as is the case with the athar of Ibn Abbas, for example.
In Sahih Muslim, there is a hadith from Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: , and in another narration: . This may be his ijtihad, or it may be tawqif from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). However, we do not have the apparent evidence as is the case with the athar of Ibn Abbas, where it is unlikely to be his ijtihad. It is possible that it is ijtihad in the sense that he analogized eating to drinking, as they are of the same nature. Since he heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbidding drinking while standing, eating is like it or worse than it. This is because people generally tend to drink while standing, whereas the common practice for eating is to do so while sitting or seated. Therefore, if one eats while standing, this eating is worse than drinking while standing. It is as if he is saying: this is a qiyas awla (analogical reasoning by stronger evidence), as we said: . But I return to say that it is not on the same level as the athar of Ibn Abbas, because the soul is reassured, approximately ninety percent, that this athar was received from the Messenger (may Allah pray upon him and grant him peace), because it is from the matters of the unseen. Here is a subtle point that must be noted: not everything that a Companion narrates or says that is related to the unseen necessarily has the status of marfu'. Rather, it must be detailed. If this matter of the unseen that the Companion spoke about is related to the Shari'ah of Islam and to what Allah revealed to the heart of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), then it has the status of marfu'. But if it has no relation to the Shari'ah of Islam, and was only related to what had occurred in ancient times, then it is possible that it is from the Isra'iliyyat, meaning that this athar was received by the Companion from some of the People of the Book who had embraced Islam. If this possibility enters the athar, it exits from our saying that it has the status of marfu'.
And this is an observation that students of knowledge must note: the difference between an athar that may have the status of marfu' and an athar that does not necessarily have the status of marfu'.
This is what I intended to clarify.