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In Islam, the Ṣaḥābah (“Companions”) were the companions of the Islamic prophet Muḥammad. This form is plural; the singular is masculine ṣaḥābiyy, feminine ṣaḥābiyyah.
The Companions are all those who met the Prophet (peace be upon him.) and died as Muslims. Scholars have said that they were 114,000 in number [as stated by Abu Zur'ah, the teacher of Imam Muslim, and recorded by as-Suyootee]. Allah has praised in many Qur’anic verses:
”You are the best of peoples ever raised for mankind, you enjoin good and forbid evil, and you believe in Allah.
” [3:110] “And the first to embrace Islam of the Muhajiroon (the Emigrants from Makkah) and the Ansar (the citizens of Al-Madeenah who helped the Muhajiroon) and also those who followed them exactly (in Faith).
Allah is well-pleased with them as they are well pleased with Him. He has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow, to dwell therein forever. That is the supreme success.
” [9:100] “Indeed, Allah was pleased with the believers when they gave their pledge to you (O Muhammad) under the tree. He knew what was in their hearts and He sent down calmness and tranquility upon them…” [48:18]
Our attitude towards the Sahaba should be that of love, respect, peace and purity of our hearts and tongues.
Allah has described this in His saying:
“And those who come after them say: ‘Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in Faith, and put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have believed.’” [59:10]
And the Prophet (s.a.w.) said,
“The sign of faith is love of the Ansar and the sign of hypocrisy is the hatred of Ansar” [al-Bukharee, Muslim].
Why should we not be thankful to those who believed in the Prophet, assisted him, strove with their lives and wealth to make the Word of Allah supreme, preserved and transmitted to us our Religion? Who is more deserving that we pray for them and speak of them in the best manner and think of them with the best thoughts?
“When my Companions are mentioned then withhold” [Saheeh, at-Tabaranee]. And he also said, “Do not abuse my Companions, for if any of you were to spend gold equal to (mountain of) Uhud in charity, it would not equal a handful of one of them or even half of that” [al-Bukharee, Muslim]. And he said, “Whoever abuses my Companions, upon them is the curse of Allah, the angels and all the people” [Saheeh, At-Tabaranee].
It is incumbent upon the Muslims to love Allah; to love His Messenger, to love what the Prophet brought as guidance and as his practise; to love his descendants, his Companions, his wives, his children, his servants, and to love those who love them and hate those who hate them, as this is the meaning of loving for Allah’s sake and hating for Allah’s sake, and that is the most excellent kind of faith.
Scholar Al-Fudaylibn `Iyyad said, “Indeed, I love those whom Allah loves. They are those from whom the Companions of Muhammad (peace be upon him) are safe. I hate those whom Allah hates. They are the people of the deviant paths and innovation.”
We should note that the best of the Ummah, after the Prophet (peace be upon him) were Abu Bakr, then ‘Umar, then ‘Uthman, then ‘Ali. As far as the Caliphate is concerned, IbnTaymeeyah has said that anyone who “objects against anyone of these regarding this order of caliphate, he will be regarded misguided.”
True Muslims also, “accept all the superiorities and grades that have been described about them in the Qur’an, the Hadith and by concensus. They give superiority to those who spent and fought for the sake of Allah before the victory, that is, truce of Hudaibiyah over those who spent and fought after that. They consider al- Muhajireen (those who migrated from Makkah to al-Madeenah for Islam) to be superior to al-Ansar (the helpers of al-Madeenah who supported the Muhajireen). They have faith in what Allah has said about the 313 persons on the occasion of the battle of Badr that, ‘their sins are pardoned’ [al- Bukharee].
And none of those who gave their pledge to the Prophet (s.a.w.) under the tree will get into Fire as the Prophet (s.a.w.) has stated,
‘Allah is doubtlessly pleased with them and they are pleased with Allah.’ [Muslim]
The deeds and virtues of the Sahaba, may Allah be pleased with them all, should be what every Muslim should strive to emulate to the best of one’s ability. Their behaviour and sincerity were praised by Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him)and that suffices as proof.
The Sahaba were undoubtedly the best in terms of understanding the religious obligations, the Sunnah of the Prophet and the way of establishing the Islamic teachings. Their belief is an example for us, as Allah says in the Qur’an:
“So if they believe in the like of that which you believe, they are rightly guided, but if they turn away, then they are only in opposition. So Allah will suffice you against them. And He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower.” [2:137]
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said,
”The best of my people are my generation then those who come after them, then those who come after them, then there will come a people in whom there will be no good.” [At-Tabaranee, authenticated by al-Albanee]
Also, in al-Bukharee, “The best of the people are my generation, then those after them, then those after them…”
This is also reported by Muslim, AbooDawood, at-Tirmidhee, An-Nasa’ee and others.
All this should suffice as evidence that the correct understanding of Islam is that of the Sahaba and all those that follow their path, in truth. They are the best generation of Islam and they understood Qur’an and Sunnah the best.
We should approach the Deen in the manner they approached it. We are obliged to follow them, and that means, first and foremost, to have the same creed as they did, no deviations, no additions and no deletions. We also have to approach `ibadah in the same way, no innovations, no additions and no deletions. We take all of the Sunnah and refer all disagreements to Allah and His Messenger, as Allah (s.w.t.) commanded us in the Qur’an [4:59].
To follow the Sahaba does not only mean to have the same understanding of the prescripts of belief as they did. That belief must be manifested in our actions and to follow the Sahaba also means to possess their other characteristics, some of which have been identified by our scholars as:
The full acceptance of the Revelation
The deep influence of the faith and the revelation on one’s life
The application of this knowledge to the individual and collective life
Inviting others to do good deeds
Enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong
Giving advice to every Muslim
Practicing Jihad for the Sake of Allah
Also, the Sahaba presented every action according to the scales of the Sharee`ah, they used to remember and think a lot about death, they were forgiving to those who wronged them in any way, they had a great respect for the honour of other Muslims, for whom they desired only good, they were mindful of their prayers, they used to put the Hereafter before this Dunya, they realized that they could not thank Allah enough and they stayed away from the sinful and their gatherings. Allah, The Exalted, most appropriately describes them: “Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him (the Companions) are severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and falling down prostrate (in prayer), seeking Bounty from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure. The mark of them (i.e. of their faith) is no their faces (foreheads) from the traces of (their) prostration (during prayers).” [48:29] We ask Allah to enable us to learn about the lives of the Sahaba and to make our lives resemble theirs. For, as IbnTaymeeyah said,
“Whoever will read their biographies with understanding and insight, and will come to know the rewards bestowed by Allah upon them, he will certainly realize that these are the best among humans after the Prophets. Neither there has been anyone like them nor will there be.”
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