How do we judge between the different interpretations of the Qur’an by the Companions, especially when some of them differ from others, and is judging based on personal inclination considered following misguiding whims away from the path of Allah?

The Salaf did not differ in interpreting the definitive evidence or the fundamentals of religion. Their differences were mostly differences of diversity, ijtihad (independent reasoning), and expansion of meaning, not differences of contradiction. When there is a difference between the interpretations of the Companions, the exegete refers to the process of scholarly preference (tarjih) through ijtihad and examining the strength and clarity of the evidence. Among the aspects of scholarly preference are: interpreting some of the Qur’an by means of other parts, the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) hadith, the consensus of the majority, the sayings of respected Companions like Ibn Abbas, the linguistic implications of Arabic, the context of the discourse, the meaning that immediately comes to mind, preferring the literal meaning over the metaphorical, preferring the general over the specific, preferring the absolute over the restricted, preferring independence over ellipsis, and interpreting speech in its proper order. Applying these aspects is not considered following whims if it is done according to a correct methodology.