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One may ask, why did those before us differ? And why did it often get to such an extent that they abandoned many Aḥādīth? We will answer this with simplicity, and undeniable logic, based on concrete evidences, and starting with the era of the Sahaba.
It is known that the Companions, may Allāh be pleased with them, were around the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ , gathered in Madīnah. They had livelihoods to seek and were often in severe hardship for sustenance, this has been explicitly stated by texts. Some of them were engaged in the markets, and some were standing by palm trees, and a group of them would attend the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ whenever they found the slightest free time from their tasks. This is something no one can deny.
Abū Hurairah mentioned this, saying, “My brothers among the Muhajirīn were occupied with trading in the markets, and my brothers among the Anṣār were occupied with tending to their palm trees. I was a poor man who accompanied the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ instead of filling my stomach.” And this is something ʿUmar also acknowledged, he said, “This narration of the Prophet ﷺ remained hidden from me, business in the market kept me busy.” ʿUmar mentioned this is in the narration about asking permission of Abū Mūsā in Bukhari 7353.
The Prophet ﷺ would be asked about something, give a ruling on it, order something, or do something, and this would not be known except by those present, and it would be unknown by those absent. When the Prophet ﷺ passed away and Abū Bakr, may Allāh be pleased with him, became the Khalifah, the Companions then dispersed for war against Musaylimah, the apostates, and to Shām and Iraq. Some Companions remained in Madīnah with Abū Bakr, may Allāh be pleased with him. And thus when an issue arose, and he did not know anything from the Prophet ﷺ regarding it, he would ask the Companions that were present. If they had knowledge of it, he would follow it. Otherwise, he would exercise his Ijtihād.
When ʿUmar, may Allāh be pleased with him, became the Khalifah, the cities were conquered, and the Companions dispersed even more widely. If the people needed a ruling, whether in Madīnah or elsewhere, and the present Companions had knowledge of it from the Prophet ﷺ , they would follow it. Otherwise, the leader of that city would exercise his Ijtihād.
There might be rulings from the Prophet ﷺ known to a Companion (or Companions) in another city. For example, it is an established fact that the people of Madīnah would know things the people of Egypt did not, and the people of Egypt would know things the people of Shām did not, and the people of Shām would know things the people of Baṣrah did not, and the people of Baṣrah would know things the people of Kūfah did not, and the people of Kūfah would know things the people of Madīnah did not. All of this is present in the narrations. And as we stated, it is known by necessity that some were absent from the Prophet ’ﷺ s gathering at times whilst others were present. Thus, the one who was present the day before would be absent the day after, and the one who was present would be absent on another day. Each Companion would know what they attended, and they would have missed what they did not attend.
This is understood intuitively, and we shall provide examples:
・For example, the knowledge of Tayammum (dry ablution) was with ʿAmmār and others, but ʿUmar and ibn Masʿūd were unaware of it and said that one in a state of major impurity should not perform Tayammum even if he does not find water for two months, Bukhari 347.
・The ruling on wiping over socks was with ʿAlī and Hudhayfah, may Allāh be pleased with them, but ʿĀʾishah, Ibn ʿUmar, and Abū Huraira were unaware of it, even though they were from Madīnah, Muslim 276.
・The ruling on the inheritance of a granddaughter with a daughter was with ibn Masʿūd, but Abū Mūsā was unaware of it, Bukhari 6736.
・The ruling on seeking permission to enter was with Abū Mūsā and Abu Saʿīd, but ʿUmar was unaware of it, Muslim 2153.
・ The ruling allowing a menstruating woman to leave before performing the circumambulation of farewell was with ibn ʿAbbās and Umm Sulaym, but ʿUmar and Zayd ibn Thābit were unaware of it, Bukhari 329.
・The ruling on the prohibition of temporary marriage (mut’ah) and consuming domestic donkeys was with ʿAlī and others, but ibn ʿAbbās did not know the ruling of them, Al-Musannaf by Ibn Abi Shaybah 17065.
・The ruling on currency exchange was with ʿUmar and Abū Saʿīd and others, but Talḥa, ibn ʿAbbās, and Ibn ʿUmar were unaware of it, al-Muwatta 2549.
・The ruling on expelling the People of the Book from the Arabian Peninsula was with ibn ʿAbbās and ʿUmar, but ʿUmar forgot it for years until he was reminded and then expelled them, Bukhari 2730.
・The knowledge of Kalālah was known by some of the Companions but ʿUmar did not know it, Muslim 1617.
・The knowledge of the inheritance of the grandfather was with Maʿqil ibn Yasār, but ʿUmar was unaware of it, Al-Mustadrak of al-Hakim 8218.
・The ruling of the grandmother was with Al-Mughīrah, Muḥammad ibn Muslimah, but it was unknown by Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, al-Muwatta 3038.
・And the ruling of taking jizyah from the magians and not to enter the land with a plague was with ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, but it was not known by ʿUmar, Abū ʿUbayd and the majority of the companions, Tirmidhi 1587.
And there are a lot more of these examples.
Besides the lifestyle of the Sahaba, and the necessity of them not always hearing everything from the revelation due to their occupations, we will also mention the fact that the Sahaba could forget just as other humans and Jinn forget. And it is such that forgetfulness, with the Sahaba specifically, would even occur with the verses of the Qurʿān, and we shall show examples of this.
・ʿUmar stood on the Minbar and ordered the women to not increase their Mahr. Then a woman mentioned to him the verse:
“And you have given one of them a Qinṭār (great amount)”
[Surah al-Nisa ayah20].
Then he left his previous saying and he said, ”Everyone is more knowledgeable than you Oh ʿUmar. A woman was correct and the Amir ul-Mu’minīn was mistaken.”
・ʿUmar wanted to stone a woman that gave birth after six months, then ʿAlī reminded him that pregnancy can indeed be six months, he mentioned the verses:
“And the weaning of him is thirty months”
[Surah al-Ahqaf ayah 15]
“The mothers shall give suck to their children for two whole years”
[Surah al-Baqarah ayah 233]
Then 'Umar refrained from stoning her.
・ʿUmar was about to attack ʿUyainah ibn Ḥuṣn when ʿUyainah said to him, “Beware! Oh the son of al-Khaṭṭāb. By Allāh, you neither give us sufficient provision nor judge among us with justice.” Thereupon al-Ḥurr ibn Qays Ibn Ḥuṣn ibn Hudhaifah reminded 'Umar the verse:
“And turn away from the foolish”
[Surah al-A'raf ayah 199]
Then he said to him, “Oh Amīr ul-mu’minīn, this person is from the foolish”, then ʿUmar left him.
・ʿUmar also said the day the Prophet ﷺ passed away, “By Allāh the Prophet ﷺ did not pass away, and he will not pass away till he is the last one of us.” He said this till he was reminded of the verse:
“Verily you (Oh Muḥammad) will die, and verily they (too) will die”
[Surah al-Zumar ayah 30]
Then he dropped the sword from his hand and went to the earth and said, “By Allāh it is as if I never recited it before.”
As forgetfulness is possible with the Qurʿān, it is also possible with the narrations of the Sunnah. It is possible for a Sahabi to forget it forever and it is possible for him to remember it. And none of this causes the revelation to be lost, for Allah promised to preserve it, and therefore if one Sahabi forgets something, then there will always be another who will posses the truth.
We have clarified the lifestyle of the Sahaba, and we have clarified that forgetfulness was possible and normal with them. And besides these, it is possible for the Sahaba to know of a verse or Hadith, but to think that it has Taʿwīl (different interpretation) in it or that it has Khuṣūṣ (specification) or a Naskh (abrogation) or a different meaning. And it is not permissible for anyone to follow these sorts of personal opinions except with a text that proves it or a certain decisive Yaqini Ijmāʾ. Because if these two are not there to back it up, then the person would be following a Raʿī (personal conviction/opinion), and it is not allowed to blind follow anyone as we have clarified in the past, nor is it allowed to accept Raʿī as the religion is purely based upon certain revelation and not the opinions of fallible humans, despite their undeniable eminence and noble status.
The Companions proceeded as we mentioned, and then the Tābiʿūn who followed them came after them, taking knowledge from them. And every generation from the Tābiʿūn in the lands we mentioned only took knowledge from those that were with them from the Companions, they would never transgress their Fatāwa, not by means of Taqlīd of them but rather because they only narrated from them due to them being the only companions in their lands. Except that sometimes a few narrations reached them from others among the Companions that were in different lands.
Ahl al-Madīnah mostly followed the Fatāwa of ibn ʿUmar, and Ahl al-Kūfah mostly followed the Fatāwa of ibn Masʿūd, and Ahl al-Makkah mostly followed the Fatāwa of ibn ʿAbbās. Then, after the Tābiʿūn the Fuqahāʿ came of the major cities, such as Abū Ḥanīfah and Sufyān in Kūfah, ibn Abī Laylā in Kūfah, Ibn Jurayj in Makkah, Mālik and ibn al-Mājishūn in Madīnah, ʿUthmān al-Battī and Suwar in Baṣrah, al-Awzāʾī in Shām, and al-Layth in Egypt.
They embarked upon this method of taking from the narrations the Ṣahāba of their cities left behind, and they exercised their own Ijtihād in what they did not find with them (which were narrations that were present with others). Everyone we mentioned are rewarded in that which they were correct in as it is ruled by Rasūlallāh ﷺ. These noble predecessors got two rewards every single time they were correct and they got one reward when they were mistaken. Among them were those whom two contradicting narrations reached, whereby they inclined to one of the narrations without the other, or they used some methods of Tarjīḥ (precedence) which were in reality invalid.
And the examples of such occasions can also be found with the Sahaba, just as it is narrated about ʿUthmān regarding combining two daughters in marriage. He said, “One verse prohibited it and the other allowed it”.
And like what ibn ʿUmar said about the prohibition of the women of Ahl al-Kitāb in general because of the verse:
“Do not marry/have intercourse with the disbelieving women till they believe”
[Surah Al-Baqarah ayah 221]
He said, “I do not know a shirk more severe than the woman that says that ʿĪsā is her Lord”. He gave this Ayah precedence over the Ayaat that show the permissibility.
And like ibn ʿAbbās when he made the ʿIddah of the pregnant to be the last two periods from the birth time, or to complete four months and ten days.
And like how some of the companions made Taʿwīl regarding domesticated donkeys and said that it was only prohibited because there is no Khumus over it. Others made Taʿwīl that it is prohibited because it carries the people and that it eats excrement. Some said it is simply prohibited, without mentioning a reason.
And another example would be that of the noble Badari Sahabi, Qudāmah ibn Madhʾūn, who made Taʿwīl regarding consuming Khamr, and permitted it using the verse:
“Those who believe and do righteous good deeds, there is no sin on them for what they ate”
[Al-Baqarah ayah 234]
For reasons like these, the early Salaf abandoned to act upon some of the Ahadīth and verses, and for these same reasons, their contemporaries disagreed with them. So they took and held on to what others left and others took and held on to what they left.
These reasons, in total, can be categorized into ten. They are the following:
・First, that the scholar did not receive the correct Hadīth and because of that he gives a Fatwā based on another text he has received, as ʿUmar said regarding the narration on seeking permission, “This matter from the Prophet ﷺ was unknown by me, as I was occupied with business in the market.” as stated in Bukhari 7353.
・Second, that it occurs to him that a narrator of the narration did not remember correctly and that he made a mistake, as ʿUmar did with the narration of Fāṭimah bint Qays as stated in Abu Dawud 2291. And as ʿĀʾishah did with the narration of the deceased being punished for the weeping of his family as stated in Muslim 932. This is a Dhann (assumption) that has no meaning, if it is applied generally, it would invalidate all narrations and the science of Hadith would be dropped in its totality, and if applied specifically, it would be a false and baseless criticism and ruling.
・Third, that it occurs to him that it is abrogated, as Ibn ʿUmar thought about the verse on marrying women of the People of the Book as we mentioned before.
・Fourth, that he gives precedence to a text over another text based on what he feels is safer to do, and this has no meaning to it, as it is not obliged by the Qurʿān or Sunnah.
・Fifth, that he gives precedence of one text over another because it is acted upon by more people or because of their stature, which has no meaning as well and the science of Jarh wal Ta'dil would humiliate anyone who continues to adopt this methodology as it shows that even the most eminent ones can be mistaken.
・Sixth, that he gives precedence of a text that is not authentic over one that is authentic without knowing the invalidity and weakness of the one he gave precedence to.
・Seventh, that he makes specifications of a general text based on his own Dhann (assumption).
・Eighth, that he applies a general text that must in fact not be appliedgenerally, and leaves what is specific.
・Ninth, that he makes Taʿwīl of the narration contrary to its apparent meaning without evidence, perhaps even due to Dhann without evidence.
・Tenth, that he leaves an authentic text for the saying of a companion, thinking that the companion did not leave that text except for a knowledge he possessed. And this is nothing but Dhann.
These are suspicions and assumptions that caused the differences which were already known by Allāh almighty to occur. We ask Allāh the almighty for steadfastness on the truth by his grace, Āmīn.
Then, after the age of the foremost early ones, travel to distant regions increased, and people interacted and met. Some people devoted themselves to collecting the Hadīth of the Prophet ﷺ and compiling and documenting it. It then reached those who did not have it, and the Hujjah was established for those who received any of it and understood it. And the Aḥadīth clarified the correctness of one of the Taʿwīlāt of those that did Taʿwīl, and the authentic from the weak became known, and also the false Ijtihād of the ones who went against the words and actions of the Prophet ﷺ , and the excuses became invalid on the one that opposed what reached him from the Sunan if he understood it and knew of its authenticity, and thus nothing other than stubbornness, Jahl, Taqlīd and sin remained, until this day of ours.
This is the true and pure path of this Deen, the path of following and submitting to the narrations which the Companions were upon and many from the Tābiʿūn, they would exert immense effort and travel to seek one narration for many days. Like Abū Ayyūb who traveled from Madīnah to Egypt to meet ʿAqabah ibn ‘Āmir for one narration only as is related in the Musnad of al-Humaydi 384. And like Muʿāwiyah who wrote to al-Mughīrah saying, “Write to me what you heard from the Prophet ﷺ ", as is related in Bukhari 844. And like ʿAlqamah and al-Aswad who traveled to ʿĀʾishah and ʿUmar. And ʿAlqamah also traveled to Abū al-Dardāʾ in Shām. And there are plenty of examples of this.
We have thus briefly clarified the reality of how the Wahy was taught to the Sahaba, and we gave a glimpse of their lifestyles and explained how they differed due to fact that some possessed knowledge which the other didn't, and that they forgot and had to be reminded, and that some of them had misunderstandings and misinterpretations. We then explained how this carried on to the time of the Tabiʿūn and the Fuqaha after them, and we elucidated on how and why some narrations were rejected and the reasons for it. And finally we concluded with the fact that the Wahy eventually became widespread, and the Hujjah was established upon many among the Ummah, and nothing remained except stubbornness, Jahl, Taqlid, and sins. We have, by the will of Allah, removed the confusion and ignorance of this issue, but we advise the reader to study this further upon the correct methodology of Rasulallah ﷺ.
والحمد لله رب العالمين