The caliphs therefore had to practice Ijtihad and then allow...

The caliphs therefore had to practice Ijtihad and then allow the others to practice it so that decisions that would be taken out of their practices of Ijtihad would be justifiable and that they would not stand alone in this invented process. `Umar then exerted all efforts to dedicate such right of Ijtihad to himself, but `Uthman ibn `Affan, as has been previously cited, said no.

Second Presentation Abu-Bakr and `Umar did not claim full acquaintance with all the religious questions in which the Holy Prophet had judged; rather they issued religious decisions according to their personal views. In this regard, Abu-Bakr affirmed on various occasions that the verdicts he issued had not been based upon any reference of legislation; if it therefore was true, this would be originated from Almighty Allah’s guidance, but if it was not, it would be Satan’s, as well as his, fault.

They also used to ask the other Sahabah about the rulings that had been decided by the Holy Prophet while they had not known; and they did accept the words of these Sahabah in this respect.

They also confessed of their lack of knowledge before everybody including the lady who proved false `Umar’s decision in the famous issue of women’s dowries and thus he confessed of her having been more knowledgeable than he was in the jurisprudential questions.[^3] As a matter of fact, the religious rulings that Abu-Bakr and `Umar ignored were not few and were not restricted to one or two questions so that one would exert efforts in finding for them a justifiable interpretation.

Meanwhile, the other Sahabah—such as Mu`adh ibn Jabal, Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud, and `Ali ibn Abi-Talib—knew the actual religious laws about such questions. It is now obvious that when `Umar ibn al-Khattab summoned the Sahabah and said to them, “We (i.e. the ruling authorities) are more knowledgeable about these rulings than you are; therefore, I listen to you but sometimes reject your words,” and when `Urwah ibn al-Zubayr said to `Abdullah ibn `Abbas, “They (i.e.