The Legal Evidences in the Jurisprudence of the Companions

Abstract

This study examines the legal evidences (adillah al-ahkam) in the jurisprudence of the Companions the first generation of scholars in ijtihad (independent reasoning) and derivation of rulings. They played a significant role in shaping the framework of Islamic legislation and the development of Islamic jurisprudence. As the first generation tasked with applying the divine texts to real-life situations after the Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ death, their contributions were foundational.
The Companions were the closest to the source of revelation; they were the first to receive the Qur'an and the Sunnah and to witness their practical implementation. Thus, their juristic efforts formed the basis for the Islamic legal tradition.

The researchers examined the Companions’ methodology in deriving legal rulings. The Companions primarily relied on the Qur’an and the Sunnah as the foremost sources for legal evidence. When no clear evidence could be found in these texts, they turned to consensus (ejmah), if available, and then to analogical reasoning (qiyas), applying rulings from existing texts to new issues. This approach was grounded in their deep understanding of the objectives and principles of Islamic law (maqasid al-shariaha).

The study aims to shed light on how the Companions engaged with the Qur’an and the Sunnah as the foundational sources, as well as how they exercised ijtihad (independent reasoning) in the absence of explicit texts. Their methods included the use of analogy (qiyas), juristic preference (istihsan), consideration of public interest (maslahah mursalah), laws of previous nations (shar man qablana), blocking the means to harm (sadd al-zaraih), and the legal opinions of individual Companions -among other tools of reasoning.