Sunday, August 21, 2022

Authority of the Statements of the Companions

 

The authority of the statements of the companions of Messenger Muhammad in legal fatwa

Concise Introduction to Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence Based on al-Waraqat By Imam al-Harmayn Al-Juwayni [Part 20]

A statement of the companion is a report narrated from one of the companions of Messenger Muhammad. It can be a statement, an action, or tacit approval of a religious matter. 

A companion of Messenger Muhammad [peace be upon him] is a person who accompanied Messenger Muhammad even for an hour or saw him and died in such a state. 

The companion’s statement is one of the Shariah proofs that there is disagreement about its authority. 

a) If no one of the companions disagrees with the statement, the statement is authoritative. If there is disagreement on the statement, then the statement is not authoritative. 

b) The statement is not well-known among the companions. If the statement is well-known and no one disagreed with it, then it is considered silent consensus. 

c) The statement is about something that depends on an opinion. If the statement is about a matter that cannot depend on an opinion, it is obligatory to accept it because it is considered a narration from Messenger Muhammad [peace be upon him]. For example, statements of the companions about the events that will take place on the Day of Judgment.

d) The statement is said by a companion who is known for giving fatwa and a scholar of Fiqh. If he is not so, then his statement is not authoritative.

There are two opinions about the companion’s statement:

1. The statement of a companion of Messenger Muhammad is authoritative. This is the opinion of Imam Malik, Abu Hanifah, Imam Ahmad, and Imam Ash-Shafi in one of his opinions.

2. The statement of a companion of Messenger Muhammad is not authoritative, which is the later opinion of Imam Ash-Shafi, another narration from Imam Ahmad, and the chosen opinion of Al-Ghazali, Al-Amidi, Ibn Al-Hajib, and Al-Juwayni.

Concise Introduction to Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence Based on al-Waraqat By Imam al-Harmayn Al-Juwayni [Part 19]

English translation, and newfangled commentary on Imām al Ḥaramayn al Juwaynī’s Kitāb al Waraqāt fī uṣūl al fiqh

The Waraqat of Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni, a classical manual of Usul Al-Fiqh

al-Juwayni, Abu'l Ma'ali (1028-85)




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