Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 1 of 2

'Ali ibn Abi Tcilib 475
his eagerness to follow the same method. From these reports, it is
clear that in their legislative and judicial plans, the Companions (may
Allah be pleased with them) used to rely on the Qur'an and Sunnah
before moving on to opinions in the general sense."
Now let us and draw some conclusions from these reports:
1. The Companions were agreed on this method, and the steps they
followed in trying to find answers to problems were in the
following order: First, they started with the Book of Allah, then
they moved on to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (g),
before resorting to working it out collectively and then analogy.
2. Legal precedent played an important role in this procedure; its
role was second only to the texts.
3. It is worth noting with regard to this method that Abu Bakr and
'Umar, in particular, did not consult anyone except those of the
Companions who were already present in Madinah. There is no
report to indicate that they would summon those of the
Companions who were absent for the purpose of consulting
them on any issue that required some working out. This indicates
that consensus was reached on the basis of agreement among the
Companions who were present, regardless of the opinion of
those who were absent. It is clear to us from the plan of the
Rightly Guided Caliphs and the Companions in legislation and
jndicial matters, that every time they bad a problem to solve or
came across a case they needed a ruling on, they hastened to
consult the Qur'an first of all. If they did not find a solution
there, they would refer to the Sunnah. If they did not find a
solution there, they would work it out on the basis of their own
views in the general sense thereof, whether they reached this
conclusion collectively or individually. The decision that
resulted from their collective opinions is called consensus,
which is a reference that was introduced by them and was not