A Simple Guide to ISLAM
Fiqh – Jurisprudence
~ 105 ~
diverse the differences were natural. Sometimes two contradictory
traditions were reported from the Prophet. Some Companions
followed one, and some followed the other.
In some cases, a Hadith was not known to a Companion; hence he
decided the problem on the basis of his own opinion. When the
relevant Hadith was brought to his notice, he withdrew his personal
judgement. On this account Umar, the second caliph, changed his
opinion several times.
On certain occasions it so happened that the relevant Hadith was
available but the reporter himself could not understand its real
import. Ibn Umar is reported to have narrated a Hadith from the
Prophet that a deceased is punished on account of the mourning of
his relatives. When this tradition reached Aisha she rejected it
saying that Ibn Umar might have been mistaken or he might have
forgotten some relevant part of the tradition. She also observed
that the Hadith reported by Ibn Umar goes against the Quranic
verse: No soul bears the burden of another.
The Companions, however, tried their best to base their decisions
on the Quran and Sunnah. They aspired to keep their decisions
and personal judgements as much close to those of the Prophet as
possible. Despite their differences, they did not deviate from the
spirit of the Qur'an and Hadith.
The Successors took their stand on the opinions expressed by the
Companions. They retained in their memory the hadith of the
Prophet and the opinions of his Companions. They made attempts
to reconcile opposite opinions held by the Companions on many
