4. Ijtihad of the Sahabah

The sahabah were allowed to use ijtihad. 'Amr bin Al-'As narrated: That he heard Allah's Apostle saying, "If a judge gives a verdict according to the best of his knowledge and his verdict is correct (i.e. agrees with Allah and His Apostle's verdict) he will receive a double reward, and if he gives a verdict according to the best of his knowledge and his verdict is wrong, (i.e. against that of Allah and His Apostle) even then he will get a reward" (alBukhari). Qabeelat Tayybah TCE Notes Revolution 31

• When Ali ibn Abi-Talib was in Yemen, the people from the village dug a hole to catch a dangerous lion. When the lion got trapped inside, everyone flocked there to witness this momentous event. In the process, one person accidentally got pushed in the hole. He pulled another one with him, who pulled another one who pulled another one. 4 people died. The people of the village came to Ali to seek his ruling regarding the ransom due to the families of the deceased. Ali used his ijtihad to conclude that the family of the first gets 25% of a normal ransom (he caused the accidental death of 3 more). The second’s gets 33% (he caused the accidental death of 2 more), the third’s gets 50% (he caused the accidental death of 1 more), and the fourth’s gets 100%. Was there an authority for the Ijma’ at the time of the Messenger of Allah (Peace Be Upon Him)? • Ijma of the sahabah was nonexistent during the time of the Messenger of Allah (Peace Be Upon Him) because he was there.  The Basis of Legislation in the Sunnah • Establishing the codes of the law  Ijtihad, Qiyas, etc. were established during the time of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) but they were not referred to using this terminology.  The Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was allowed to make ijtihad, thereby teaching us the proper way to do so. The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) was corrected by Allah whenever he made a mistake while during our time this is not the case. • Leaving Ijtihad allowable The Sahabah were allowed to make ijtihad: Ibn Umar narrated: “On the day of Al-Ahzab (i.e. Clans) the Prophet said, "None of you Muslims) should offer the 'asr prayer but at Banu Quraiza's place." The 'asr prayer became due for some of them on the way. Some of those said, "We will not offer it till we reach it, the place of Banu Quraiza," while some others said, "No, we will pray at this spot, for the Prophet did not mean that for us." Later on it was mentioned to the Prophet and he did not berate any of the two groups” (alBukhari). The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) approved both groups on their Ijtihad. • Implementation of the laws of the Qur’an The laws of the Qur’an are explained by the Sunnah. Qabeelat Tayybah TCE Notes Revolution 32

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