The guardians of the Ummah—Sāhabāh
Abd al-Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf (رضي الله عنه) narrated that the Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ) said:
"Abu Bakr will be in Paradise, ‘Umar will be in Paradise, ‘Uthmaan will be in Paradise, ‘Ali will be in Paradise, Talhah will be in Paradise, al-Zubayr will be in Paradise, ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf will be in Paradise, Sa’d will be in Paradise, Sa’eed will be in Paradise, and Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarraah will be in Paradise.” (All-Tirmidhi, 3680, Sahih).
Anas ībn Maalik (رضي الله عنه) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said,
“The most merciful of my nation is Abu Bakr. The strongest of them in the affair of Allah is Umar. The most sincere of them in modesty is Uthman. The best reciter of the Book of Allah among them is Ubay ibn Ka’b. The best of them in the rules of inheritance is Zayd ibn Thabit. The most knowledgeable of them in lawful and unlawful is Mu’adh ibn Jabal. No doubt, every nation has a trustee and the trustee of this nation is Abu ‘Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah.”
In another narration, the Prophet said, “The best of them in judgment is Ali ibn Abi Talib.”
(Sunan al-Tirmidhī 3791, Sahih according to Shaykh Al-Albani)
It is obligatory to love, respect and follow them in their beliefs, methodology and interpretation of the book and the Sunnah. Whoever reviles them is a heretic.
Imam Ad-Dhahabi reported in his Major Sins:
“Allah! Allah! (Keep the thought of Allah) concerning my companions. “Do not take them as a target” (for your obscenity or charges) after me, He who loves them, loves me but he who hate them, hates Me, and he who offends them, offends me and in turn offends Allah and he who offends Allah, Allah almost takes him”
[Tirmidhi]
“The sign of faith is love of the helpers (Ansar), and the sign of hypocrisy is hatred of the helpers.”
[Bukhari and Muslim]
This is because they were the first believers who fought the enemies of Islam fiercely at the lifetime of the Prophet (ﷺ). Likewise, the love of Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) is of faith and the hatred of him is hypocrisy.
The excellence of the Prophet’s companions can be recognized by studying their biography and their traces during the Prophet’s lifetime and thereafter. This excellence is represented in their sincere faith, fighting against the disbelievers, disseminating the belief, declaring the Islamic rites, raising high the word of Allah and His Messenger and teaching others the obligatory and Sunna worshiping. Were not they, we would not receive anything concerning the religion. Hence, whoever disparages them is beyond the pale of Islam.
Such disparaging is undoubtedly out of the belief that they were wicked people and thus denying the sayings of Allah and His Messenger when praising them and indicating their virtues. They are also the intermediaries between the source and the target of sacred knowledge. Doubting the intermediary necessarily affects the source.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said,
“Allah has selected me and picked out my companions. From among my Companions, I have ministers, helpers, and relatives by marriage. Thereby, whoever disparages them entails the curse of Allah, His angels and all the people. Allah will not accept their deeds on the Day of Judgment.”
[Ibn Hajar Al-Haithami in Majma’ Al-Zawa'id]
Anas Ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) related, once the Prophetic Companions said,
“The curse of Allah the angels and the whole people is upon whoever reviles my companions.”
[Ibn Hajar Al-Haithami in Majma’ Al-Zawa'id]
“Allah has selected me and picked out my companions. He also granted me friends, brothers and relatives by marriage. There will be another generation thereafter who will revile and disparage them. Therefore, you should not interact with them in food, drink marriage, prayer over them or prayer with them.”
[Aqily in Durr As-Sahabah]
Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) related that the Prophet (ﷺ) said,
“Hold your tongue whenever you hear the mentioning of my Companions, stars and destiny.”
[Tabarani in Jami’ Al-Adhkar]
Scholars argued that, holding one’s tongue is a sign of complete submission to Allah.
It is obligatory for a Muslim to love Allah and his Messenger. Of the Prophet’s love is to love all what He was sent with, those who take after him, those who apply his tradition and guidance, household, companions, wives, progeny, servants, and to love whoever loves them and hate whoever hates them.
Abu Ayyub As-Sakhtiyyani (may Allah be pleased with him) said,
“whoever loves Abu Bakr raises the minaret of the religion higher, whoever loves 'Umar clarifies the way, whoever loves 'Uthman, is enlightened by Allah’s light, whoever loves Ali adheres to the clearest principle and whoever says, the Prophet’s companions are good and right is free from hypocrisy.” (The Major sins, by Imam al-Dhahabi).
Abu Zar’ah al-Raazi رَحِمَهُ ٱللَّٰهُ said: "If you see a man criticizing any of the companions of the Messenger of Allaah, then you should know that he is a heretic, because the Messenger is true, the Qur'aan is true, and what he brought is true. All of that was transmitted to us by the Sahaabah, so whoever criticizes them is intending to prove that the Qur’aan and Sunnah are false. So he is the one who most deserves to be criticized and the ruling that he is a heretic who has gone astray and is a liar and evildoer is more apt." (Al-Sawaa’iq al-Muhriqah 2/608).
Q 2: What do you think of a group of people who searches for the defects of the Sahabah (Companions of the Prophet), disparages them, and accuses them of debauchery, niggardliness and cowardliness? They even claim that the Sahabah differed in their `Aqidah (creed). Please advise about the `Aqidah of Ahl-ul-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah (those adhering to the Sunnah and the Muslim main body) concerning the Sahabah and defending them against slander. How should Muslims behave towards this group of people? May Allah guide them to the truth.
A:
The Prophet (peace be upon him) stated, Do not abuse my Companions, for by Him in Whose Hands my life is, if anyone of you spends gold equal to Uhud (in Allah’s Cause) it would not be equal to a Mud (a dry measure of half bushel, 543 grams) or even a half Mud spent by one of them.
Allah (may He be Exalted) states regarding the Muhajirun (Emigrants from Makkah to Madinah) and the Ansar (Helpers, inhabitants of Madinah who supported the Prophet),Surah Al-Hashr, 59: 10 And those who came 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. Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful.”
It is impermissible to dispraise any of the Sahabah. We love them, ask Allah to be pleased with them, and seek Allah’s forgiveness for them. Whoever abuses them or dispraises them, is nothing but a misguided Mubtadi` (one who introduces innovations in religion).
May Allah grant us success! May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family and Companions!
Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta’
Abdul-`Aziz ibn `Abdullah Al Al-Shaykh , Salih Al-Fawzan , Bakr ibn `Abdullah Abu Zayd
