Khilafat:
The companions of the Prophet were the first to resort to analogy [A form of Ijtihad] when confronted with the problem of the election of Abu Bakr to Khilafat. The Prophet (Pbuh) having asked Abu Bakr to lead the prayers they elected him as their leader, for one who is the leader in religious affairs must also be the leader in worldly affairs. The cause for election is quite apparent and they were justified in electing Abu Bakr as their leader.
The companions were unanimously in agreement concerning the application of analogy. An example is the directive from the Caliph ‘umar to Abu Musa al-Ashari which read; “know the similitude and weigh the cases against them!”
Hazrat Ali, when consulted by Caliph Uthman on the punishment which should be meted out to those who drank wine, he advised; “We apply the punishment for calumny’, namely eighty lashes of the whip, because ‘if a person becomes intoxicated, he knows not what he says, and in such a condition he commits calumny.” Thus, through this analogy, drinking of wine was linked to calumny. Other examples of Ijtehad by orthodox Caliphs are as follows; Punishment as prescribed by the Qur’an for the thief, male or female, is to cut off their hands, but the Caliph ‘Umar suspended it in the year of famine because of necessity and in order that people might keep alive. The consensus of jurists followed this rule.
Similarly workers and artisans such as tailors and goldsmiths were not responsible for the loss of things given to them to work upon. Hadrat Ali argued, “although the workers or the manufacturers do not seem to be responsible for the loss of such things, if there is no responsibility they will become quite negligent with the result that the owners will have to suffer a great loss.” Therefore, the artisans and workers must be held responsible, hence ‘Ali’s proposal was adopted by consensus.
Caliph ‘Umar , observed the principle of sound analogy (Tawil) in the interpretation of the Qur’anic verse: ‘Alms are only for the poor and the needy, and those who collect them and for those whose hearts are to be reconciled, and to free the captives and the debtors, and for the cause of Allah and the wayfarer, a duty imposed by God. (9:60)
The words, ‘those whose hearts are to be reconciled’, refer to a group of weavers who were included among the recipients of the alms. The verse is silent as to the cause why this group was included among the recipients of alms.
The sole object was to win them over to the side of Islam on account of their influence and the high esteem in which they were held in their tribe. Caliph ‘Umar refused to give them alms when Islam had gained in strength saying: ‘These were payments from the Prophet (Pbuh) to you in order to win you over for Islam. Now Allah has given power to Islam and made your support unnecessary. So you either remain faithful to Islam or the sword will be the arbitrator between us.’
There is a report about Umar, the second Caliph, that one day, during the month of Ramadan; he announced the end of fast, when the sun apparently set. After a while he was informed that the sun was again seen in the sky (as it had not actually set). Upon this he reportedly remarked: “the matter is easy; we exercised Ijtehad. This is an early example of the use of this term by the companion standing for discretionary judgment.