What is meant by the saying, “Whoever wants to follow a path, let him follow the path of one who has died, for the living are not safe from fitnah”?

Question

Praise be to Allah.

The saying referred to is the words of ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood
(may Allah be pleased with him): “Whoever wants to follow a path, let him
follow the path of one who has died, for the living are not safe from
fitnah. I mean the Companions of Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him). They were the best of this ummah: the purest in heart, the
deepest in knowledge and the most straightforward. Allah chose them to
accompany His Prophet and establish His religion, so recognise their status
and follow in their footsteps and adhere as much as you can to their example
of conduct and attitude, for they followed true guidance.”

This report was narrated by Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr in Jaami‘
Bayaan al-‘Ilm wa Fadluhu, 2/947, no. 1810. There is some weakness in
its isnaad, but it is a well-known report that appears in many of the books
of Ahl as-Sunnah, and its meaning is sound and approved of by them.

What is meant by it is that whoever wants to follow a path to
his Lord, he should not come up with a path by himself or imitate with
regard to matters of religion one among the living who is like him, because
he is still alive and he does not know what kind of end Allah will cause him
to have. Thus he may find himself following a man in his religious affairs
who, even though today he may he following guidance and the Sunnah, may end
up following something other than that. The only one who is safe in that
regard is one who follows, on his path to his Lord, the way of the righteous
early generations of this ummah: the Companions of the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon them), those who have died and there is no longer
any fear that they may fall into fitnah.

Imam Nasr ibn Ibraaheem al-Maqdisi (may Allah have mercy on
him) said, after narrating this report from Ibn Mas‘ood and Ibn ‘Umar (may
Allah be pleased with them):

This is what Ibn Mas‘ood and ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah
be pleased with them) said. Allah (may He be exalted) spoke of them (the
Sahaabah) in more than one place and proved that they are above any
suspicion. The Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) also
spoke of them and instructed us to refer to their example, learn from it and
act upon what they said. Even though he knew about what would happen in our
time of innovations and conflicting whims and desires, he did not tell us to
adhere to anything other than the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Prophet
and the way of his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all. And he
forbade us to follow anything that has nothing to do that or to follow
anyone who goes in a way other than the way followed by his Companions.

So we must follow his commands and instructions and heed his
prohibitions.

This was the way of the scholars and imams in earlier
generations, until the time when innovations became widespread.

End quote from al-Hujjah ‘ala Taarik al-Mahajjah by
Nasr al-Maqdisi, 1/159

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him)
said:

It is very well known to anyone who ponders the Qur’aan and
Sunnah and the consensus of all groups among Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah
that the best generations of this ummah – in deeds, words, beliefs and all
other virtues – is the first generation, then those who came after them,
then those who came after them, as is proven in more than one report; they
are superior to the later generations in every virtue, be it knowledge,
deeds, faith, reason, religious commitment, eloquence or worship. Their view
of any problem is more deserving of being followed. This cannot be denied
except by the one who would refuse to accept that which is well known in the
religion of Islam and whom Allah sends astray despite his knowledge, as
‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood (may Allah be pleased with him) said.

End quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 4/157

Imam ash-Shaatibi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

The reports that confirm this idea are many; all of them
indicate that one should take them as an example and follow their way in all
situations. It is the way of salvation, as was pointed out in the hadeeth
that speaks of the division of the ummah, in which the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “… what I and my companions are
following.” (i.e., the group that follows this path is the saved group.)

End quote from al-I‘tisaam, 3/307. See also Mirqaat
al-Mafaateeh by Mullah ‘Ali al-Qaari, 1/374

And Allah knows best.