The Sahaba knew the meaning of the Qur’an and the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ better than anyone else.
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Ibn Masʿūd (رضي الله عنه) said:
والله لقد جئتم ببدعة ظلماء أو قد فضلتم أصحاب محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم علما
“By Allah, either you have introduced a dark innovation, or you claim to have surpassed the Companions of Muhammad ﷺ in knowledge.”
(Al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr, al-Ṭabarānī 9/126)
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Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنه) said:
أَتُعَلِّمُنِي بِالسُّنَّةِ
“Do you teach me the Sunnah?”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Book of the Prayer of Travellers, Chapter: Combining Prayers While Resident)
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Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنه) said to the Khawārij during his debate with them:
أتيتكم من عند صحابة النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم من المهاجرين والأنصار لأبلغكم ما يقولون… فعليهم نزل القرآن وهم أعلم بالوحي منكم
“I have come to you from the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ, from the Muhājirīn and the Anṣār, to convey to you what they say. The Qur’an was revealed among them, and they are more knowledgeable of the revelation than you.”
(Al-Mustadrak, al-Ḥākim no. 2656; al-Ḥākim said it is authentic according to the conditions of Muslim, and al-Dhahabī agreed.)
After the debate, Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī said:
فرجع كثير منهم معه
“So many of them returned with him.”
(Fatḥ al-Bārī)
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ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (رضي الله عنه):
ʿUbaydullāh ibn Abī Rāfiʿ reported that when the Ḥarūriyyah (Khawārij) declared, “There is no judgment except Allah’s,” ʿAlī (رضي الله عنه) replied:
“This statement is true, but it is being used to support a false cause.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Book 5, Hadith 2334)
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Imām al-Tirmidhī said:
لأن ابن عمر هو روى عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وهو أعلم بمعنى ما روى
“Ibn ʿUmar narrated from the Prophet ﷺ, and he was more knowledgeable of the meaning of what he narrated.”
(Sunan al-Tirmidhī no. 1245)
Many other narrations could be cited, but these are sufficient. Therefore, any interpretation that contradicts the understanding of the Sahaba regarding ʿAqāʾid (creed) is not acceptable.