The Prophet ﷺ was the best Counsellor!

After considering the qualities of a good Counsellor, it's safe to conclude that the Prophet ﷺ was the best Counsellor to have walked the earth; because his legislation is the most superior of legislations and because he himself embodied all the above mentioned traits and much more. For this reason, we should take him ﷺ as our example, just as Allah tells us: { لَّقَدۡ كَانَ لَكُمۡ فِی رَسُولِ ٱللَّهِ أُسۡوَةٌ حَسَنَةࣱ} “Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example” [Surah Al-Ahzâb: 21] Although we cannot go to the Prophet ﷺ directly for counselling, we can still refer to the rich legacy that he left behind for us to all inherit from, i.e. The Qurʿān and the authentic Sunnah; as he ﷺ said: ((فعليكم بسنتي وسنةِ الخلفاءِ المهديّين الراشدين تمسّكوا بها، وعَضّوا عليها بالنواجذِ)) “I urge you to adhere to my Sunnah and the path of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, and cling stubbornly to it.” [Reported by Abu Dawud from the hadith of Al-'Irbadh ibn Sariyah, graded 'Sahih' by Sheikh Albani in Sahih Abi-Dawud] In another wording of the hadeeth, he ﷺ said: ((تركتُكم على البيضاءِ ليلِها كنهارِها لا يزيغُ عنها بعدي إلا هالِكٌ)) “I am leaving you upon Al-Baydhaa' (a bright, clear path) whose night is like its day. No one deviates from it after me except one who is doomed.” [Authenticated by Sheikh Albani in As-Saheehah] But If we cannot access the authentic Sunnah ourselves, or struggle to understand it, then we must refer to the people of knowledge, as Allah instructed: {فَسۡـَٔلُوۤا۟ أَهۡلَ ٱلذِّكۡرِ إِن كُنتُمۡ لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ} “If you do not know, then ask those who have knowledge ˹of the Scriptures˺.” [Surah An-Nahl: 43]