Statements and Actions of the Salaf Hold No Authority Against Hadith✍ Authored by: Syed Tanveer-ul-Haq Hazrovi
🗞 Source: Monthly Al-Hadith, Hazro
❖ Sunnah and the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn
The principle of preferring the Sunnah (Hadith) over the views of scholars or righteous predecessors (Salaf) is firmly established in Islamic jurisprudence.
Imām Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Bukhārī رحمه الله—the leader of jurists and scholars of Hadith—states:
“When a Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ and the Athār (narrations) of the Companions رضی اللہ عنہم are authentically established, then the statements and actions of individuals like Aswad ibn Yazīd (a Tābiʿī) and others hold no weight as legal proof.”
(Naṣr al-Bārī fī Taḥqīq Juz’ al-Qirā’ah lil-Bukhārī, p. 93)
❖ Key Message
✔ Authentic Hadith and the practices of the Companions take precedence in matters of religion.
✔ Statements or actions of later scholars or Tābiʿīn, no matter how virtuous, cannot override the authority of the Prophet ﷺ.
✔ This establishes a clear hierarchy of evidentiary authority in Islamic law.
❖ Conclusion
No matter how esteemed the Salaf or later scholars may be, their views are not binding if they contradict an authentic Hadith or the practice of the Companions. The Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ remains the supreme authority, and it is upon every believer to give it precedence in all religious matters.
