In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger ﷺ.
This is a summary of what was presented in the audio segment of the debate of Imam al-Shafi’i, may Allah have mercy on him, on the question of the authority of the sayings of the Companions, focusing on the ranks of the legal proofs, and clarifying the important aspects:
The authority of the sayings of the Companions and the ranks of the legal proofs:
The subject of this segment is a debate of Imam al-Shafi’i on the question of the authority (hujjiyyah) of the sayings of the Companions when they differ, explaining the ranks of the legal proofs and how to infer from them.
The main points Imam al-Shafi’i addressed in this debate:
- The sayings of the Companions when they differ: Imam al-Shafi’i shows that when the Companions differ on a question, the saying of some of them is not a proof against the others, by agreement of the scholars, except for the disagreement concerning the Rightly Guided Caliphs when something is established from them by a sound chain: some of the people of knowledge make the agreement of the four Caliphs an independent proof. But Imam al-Shafi’i shows that there is nothing by which a consensus of the four Caliphs is established through a sound, firm transmission from them in most questions.
- Inferring from the hadith “You must follow my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs”: Imam al-Shafi’i shows that inferring from the hadith “You must follow my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs after me” that the saying of a Companion becomes a proof is open to question, because the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs includes the saying of each one of them, and they differed on questions. He considers it more likely that what is meant by the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs is their way of following the Sunnah, understanding it, and applying it.
- The ruling on the saying of a Companion with which no other Companion is known to have agreed or disagreed: Imam al-Shafi’i inclines towards not regarding the saying of a Companion with which no other Companion is known to have agreed or disagreed as a proof, unless it is supported by analogy.
- The ranks of the legal proofs: Imam al-Shafi’i sets out the ranks of the legal proofs, ordered from highest to lowest:
- The Book, and the mass-transmitted (mutawatir) Sunnah that is agreed upon: this is the highest rank of proofs.
- The Sunnah narrated by way of solitary reports (ahad): this is below the Book and the mass-transmitted Sunnah.
- Probable consensus (ijma’ zanni): the consensus on the derivation of a ruling or on a sound analogy upon which the scholars have agreed, and which is not among the matters of the religion known by necessity.
- Sound analogy: this is weaker than probable consensus, and one resorts to it only when there is no text or consensus.
- Analogy is a necessity: Imam al-Shafi’i shows that analogy has the status of a necessity, resorted to only when there is no text or consensus, just as dry ablution (tayammum) is a purification when water is absent.
- An example of the ranks of proofs in judicial rulings: Imam al-Shafi’i gives an example of the ranks of proofs in judicial rulings, where the judge rules by his own knowledge if he is certain of the matter, then by the admission of the litigant, then by the testimony of two witnesses, then by one witness and an oath, then by the defendant’s refusal to take the oath and the oath being returned to the claimant.
- The conclusion on the authority of the sayings of the Companions: Imam al-Shafi’i shows that the sayings of the Companions are not an independent proof in themselves; rather, they are presented to the Book, the Sunnah, consensus, and analogy: what agrees with them is adopted, and what contradicts them is rejected.
Additional clarifications:
- Ijma’ (consensus): the agreement of the scholars of the Muslims on a legal ruling.
- Qiyas (analogy): deriving a legal ruling for a new question on the basis of the legal ruling of another question that resembles it in its effective cause.
- Mass-transmitted Sunnah (sunnah mutawatirah): a hadith narrated by a large group from a large group, such that it is impossible for them to have colluded in a lie.
- Solitary Sunnah (sunnat al-ahad): a hadith narrated by one, two, or a small number that does not reach the level of mass transmission.
Final conclusion:
In this debate Imam al-Shafi’i shows the question of the authority of the sayings of the Companions and the ranks of the legal proofs, stressing that the Book and the Sunnah are the foundation, that consensus and analogy are relied upon when there is no text, and that the sayings of the Companions are presented to these proofs: what agrees with them is adopted, and what contradicts them is rejected. This segment displays Imam al-Shafi’i’s skill in debate, inference, and weighing between proofs and opinions.
All parts of Summary of the Explanation of al-Shafi'i's al-Risala by Dr. Yasir Burhami