Salafis insist that the interpretation and explanation of the Quran and Hadith are dependent on the understanding of the early generations who they describe as the pious predecessors (Salaf ul Saliheen). Their alleged modus operandi is rigidly take the interpretation of the Quran and Sunnah as taught by the Companions, and the two generations that followed them as they opine that their interpretation will be the correct one. Safis deem opposition to the Salaf as misguidance, and those that fail to do so are deviant. One such example is from the pen of Zakareeyah bin Ghulam Qadir’s work "The Obligation of Understanding the Proof According to the Understanding of the Salaf as-Salih":
‘Allaah Ta’ala gave proofs in His Noble Book concerning the excellence of the Salaf as-Salih, and following their way, Allaah Ta’ala said:
<<And the first to embrace Islaam of the Muhajirun and the Ansar and also those who followed them exactly. Allaah is well pleased with them, as they are well pleased with Him. He has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise), to dwell therein forever. That is the supreme success.>> [Tawbah: 100]
From Ibn Mas’ood that the Prophet said:
‘The best people are my generation then those who will come after them and then those after them.’
[Collected by Bukhari & Muslim]
Therefore, the Companions are the example and they are the ones to follow. It is obligatory upon every Muslim to follow them in what they understood from the evidences of the Book and the Sunnah, because they were the most knowledgeable of the people and they had the most correct understanding of the Sharia’ texts out of all the people. Consequently, if a Muslim takes other than their understanding then he will deviate away from the straight path, since the Companions stood with insight, and they viewed everything with their perceptive knowledge.
Ibn Abu Zayed al-Qayrawani said in his book ‘al-Jaama’ (117):
‘Submission to the Sunnan (plural of Sunnah) cannot be opposed with opinion, nor is it repelled with Qiyas (analogy). As for the interpretation of the Salaf as-Salih then that is how we interpret, and what they acted upon is which we act upon, what they left off is what we leave. It is sufficient to adhere to what they adhered to, and that we follow them in that what they clarified. We take them as an example in what they extracted and viewed from the hadeeth. We do not rebel against the Salaf as-Salih in what they differed or what they interpreted, and everything that we have just mentioned is the stance of the Ahl-ul-Sunnah and the Imams of the people in Fiqh and hadeeth.’
Similar views were expressed by the Deobandi scholar Hafiz Muhammad Idris, Kandhalvi, who wrote:
"Therefore, the concepts of the Book and the Sunnah and the sciences derived and extracted from them will be the same as understood by the honorable Companions. Every innovator and deviant claims that his corrupt beliefs are derived from the Book and the Sunnah according to his own assumptions and opinions. Therefore, only those meanings and interpretations of the Book and the Sunnah will be valid which were understood by the honorable Companions. No concept that goes against them will hold any credibility. The only evidence for someone expressing a meaning contrary to the Companions regarding the Book and the Sunnah is that he is misguided and ignorant. If the Companions did not understand it, then how did this half-Arab and half-English person comprehend it? The reason for putting him in half custody is that a complete Arab will only understand what the Companions and the righteous predecessors understood, and a complete Englishman who is completely unaware of Arabic will not understand it at all. So, if he is intelligent and knowledgeable, he will not make any assertion regarding the Book and the Sunnah because he does not know the language of that book. Just as an Arab scholar and literary figure cannot make any assertion regarding the commentary of English law, in the same way, an English scholar cannot make any assertion regarding the interpretation of the Qur'an and Hadith. Merely looking at the translation and considering oneself a scholar of law is also an evidence of ignorance."
(Aqaid-e-Islam, p. 166)
If we want to understand the meaning of Maula at Ghadir Khumm we therefore need to back and see how the Sahaba understood it. So let's see some examples:
We read Musanaf ibn Abi Shayba Vol 18 Page 57:
Narrated by Sharik from Hanash bin al-Harith from Riaah bin al-Harith who said: While Ali was sitting in the open space (Rahbah), a man came to him bearing the signs of travel. The man said, "Peace be upon you, O Commander!" Ali replied, "Who is this?" They said, "This is Abu Ayyub al-Ansari." Ali said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah (ï·º) saying: 'Whoever takes me as his master, Ali is his master.'
Footnote: The source of the narration is missing in manuscripts A, B and W, and there are differences in the placement and sequence of the narrations in these manuscripts. The hadith is considered Hasan (good) according to the criteria of the hadith scholars. Sharik is truthful (Saduq) and he narrated it in his book. Ahmad also narrated it in his Musnad (23563), and Ibn Abi `Asim in al-Sunnah (1355).
Comment
Note from this reference, Abu Ayub Ansari referred to Ali (as) as Ameer (Commander), basing that on of the words of Rasulullah (s) at Ghadir Khumm, so he did not use this term to Ali (as) as his friend, rather he was refrring to him as a leader.
