Is the statement or action of a Companion a proof in itself?

The Shaykh : Here arises the issue of whether the statement or action of a Companion is a proof in itself or not. The disagreement on this is well known. In my understanding, if there is no room for opinion or independent legal reasoning in the matter, and it is of the kind that is known only through the transmission from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to the Companion, then that mawquf hadith has the ruling of a marfu' hadith. For example, there is no doubt that this is a suitable example of what we are saying: a mawquf hadith that has the ruling of a marfu' hadith. The suitable example for this is the hadith of Ibn Abbas, who said: . This is mawquf and was never transmitted as marfu', and the chain of the mawquf is authentic. So what is its ruling? We say: its ruling is that of a marfu' hadith. This is because it speaks of a matter of the unseen, in which the intellect cannot delve or wander, or say: "The Qur'an was sent down in one piece," and then specify the location precisely, saying: "to the House of Glory." How would he know that there is a house called the House of Glory? This is a matter of the unseen; it must have been received from the Messenger (peace be upon him). Then he says: "in the sky: the sky of the world," not the second one, and he does not generalize, but rather qualifies it. Then, thirdly, he says: "It was sent down in stages according to events." "This is mawquf with the ruling of marfu'." The mawquf hadiths that are cited in this manner are very few, but this is their criterion. However, to fully establish this criterion: the mawquf hadith that speaks of a matter of the unseen in which there is no room for the intellect must not be susceptible to being from the Isra'iliyyat. If a Companion, for example, speaks of a matter of the unseen related to the beginning of creation, such as the creation of the angels, the creation of the jinn, the creation of the children of Adam, the creation of the heavens and the earth, and so on, it is possible that this is from the Isra'iliyyat, received by this or that Companion from some of the People of the Book who had embraced Islam. If such a possibility arises for such a mawquf hadith in which no opinion is expressed, the argument based on it falls away, and it is not permissible to attribute it to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

The questioner : Incidentally, the Shaykh added two new ones to the 'Abdullahs in Ibn Lahi'ah: Ishaq ibn Isa, and Yahya ibn Ishaq al-Sulayhi?

Another questioner : We mention that the Shaykh Abu Ishaq al-Huwayni mentioned in "Al-Ihsan" approximately ten, and it seems he dedicated a book to this man.

The Shaykh : The righteous ate your food, the angels sent blessings upon you, and the fasting ones broke their fast with you.

The questioner : May Allah honor you. The hadith of al-Thaqafi, absolutely, Imam Ahmad ibn Salih?

The Shaykh : I do not recall.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Or I do not know.