exist at that time (1), there is (2) nothing objectionable in that. It is well known that every generation that comes is later than the first generation.

The seventh point (3): His statement, “And they neglected the views of the Companions,” is a lie. Rather, the books of the leading authorities of these schools are replete with reports of the Companions’ views and arguments based upon them, although each group possesses material that the others do not.

If he says, “What I meant (4) by that is that they do not say, ‘the school of Abū Bakr and Umar,’ or anything similar,” the reason is that each of these scholars compiled the transmitted reports and the rulings he derived from them, so the resulting body of knowledge was attributed to him. In the same way, hadith collections are attributed to those who compiled them, such as al-Bukhārī, Muslim, and Abū Dāwūd, and Quranic readings are attributed to those who selected them, such as Nāfi and Ibn Kathīr.

Most of what these scholars say was transmitted from their predecessors. Some of their statements, however, were not transmitted from anyone (5) before them; rather, the scholar himself (6) derived them from those foundational sources. Then, indeed, (7) others came after him and critically examined his views (8), identifying those they considered erroneous (9). All of this was done to preserve this religion, so that its adherents would be as Allah described them: