The Prophet’s
Companions
In the Name of Allah,
the Most Gracious,
the Most Merciful
A companion of the Prophet is a
person who physically met Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him),
believed in him and died as a believer.
The Prophet’s companions (may Allah
be pleased with them all) are the best
of mankind after the prophets and
are the best generation of the Muslim
The Prophet’s
Companions
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community. As the Prophet says: ‘The
best of mankind is my generation’.
‘‘The best of my community are my
generation’.
All of them were people of high
integrity, because Allah chose them to
be the companions of His Prophet. He
commended them, was pleased with
them, accepted their repentance of
their sins, described them in the most
honourable terms and promised them
the best reward. Allah says:
“Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger; and
those who are with him are firm and
unyielding towards the disbelievers,
full of mercy towards one another. You
can see them bowing down, prostrating
in prayer, seeking favour with Allah and
His good pleasure. They bear on their
faces the marks of their prostrations.
This is how they are pictured in the
Torah. And in the Gospels, they are
like a seed that brings forth its shoot,
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strengthens it, grows thick and stands
firm on its stem, delighting the sowers.
Through them Allah will enrage the
unbelievers. To those of them who
believe and do righteous deeds Allah
has promised forgiveness and a rich
reward.” (48: 29).
Nevertheless, they are of different
ranks, both as communities and as
individuals.
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Community differences include:
One: The Muhajirin are higher
in rank than the Ansar
This is because the Muhajirin combined
immigration from their homeland with
supporting the Prophet. Moreover,
they were mentioned by Allah in the
Qur’an before the Ansar. Allah says:
“[Such gains are for] the poor migrants
who have been driven out of their
homes and possessions, seeking Allah’s
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favour and His acceptance, and who
help Allah and His Messenger. These
are the ones who are true. And to those
who were already firmly established in
the Home and in faith, those who love
the ones that seek refuge with them
and harbour no desire in their hearts
for whatever the others may have
been given. They give them preference
over themselves, even though they are
in want. Those who are saved from
their own greed are truly successful.”
(59: 8–9)
“As for the first to lead the way, of the
Muhajirin and the Ansar, as well as
those who follow them in [the way of]
righteousness, Allah is well-pleased
with them, and well-pleased are they
with Him. He has prepared for them
gardens through which running waters
flow, where they shall abide forever.
That is the supreme triumph.” (9: 100).
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“Allah has assuredly turned in His mercy
to the Prophet, the Muhajirin and the
Ansar, who followed him in the hour of
hardship, when the hearts of a group
of them had almost faltered. Then
again He turned to them in mercy; for
He is compassionate towards them,
ever-merciful.” (9: 117).
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Two: The ones who spent
money and fought for Islam
before the Al-Hudaybiyah
peace treaty are of a higher
rank than those who did so
afterwards
Allah says: ‘Those of you who gave and
fought [for Allah’s cause] before the
victory are not like others: they are
higher in rank than those who gave
and fought afterwards, although Allah
has promised the ultimate good to all
of them. Allah is well aware of all that
you do.’ (57: 10).
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Three: The people of Badr
Those who took part in the Battle of
Badr have a special distinction. In the
case of Hatib ibn Balta[ah, the Prophet
said to Umar: ‘He [Hatib] took part in
Badr. How would you tell: Allah might
have looked at the people of Badr and
said: “Do as you like; I have forgiven
you all?”’
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Four: Those who gave the al-
Ridwan pledge
Allah says: ‘Allah was indeed well
pleased with the believers when they
pledged their allegiance to you under
the tree. He knew what was in their
hearts and so He sent down tranquillity
upon them, and rewarded them with a
speedy victory.’ (48: 18). The Prophet
said: ‘None of the people who gave
their pledges under the tree will enter
Hell, Allah willing’.
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Individual distinction applies as follows:
One: The four rightly-guided
Caliphs
The highest distinction in the Muslim
community goes to Abu Bakr, then to
Umar ibn al-Khattab. This is universally
agreed by the Sunni people. It is
authentically reported in more than
80 versions that Ali said, as he was
speaking from the platform in the main
mosque in Kufah: ‘The best people
in the Muslim community after the
Prophet were Abu Bakr then Umar’.
Needless to say, Ali would not have
said this without firm evidence.
Next comes Uthman ibn Affan. Al-
Bukhari relates a hadith narrated by
Abdullah ibn Umar: ‘We used to draw
comparisons between people during
the Prophet’s time. We gave the best
positions to Abu Bakr, then Umar, then
Uthman’. In another version, he adds:
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‘This was reported to the Prophet and
he did not object’. Sufyan al-Thawri
said: ‘Whoever puts Ali ahead of Abu
Bakr and Umar shows no respect to the
Muhajirin and the Ansar’, because they
chose Abu Bakr and Umar to be Caliphs
first. Next comes Ali ibn Abi Talib. Thus,
their ranking is the same as the order
in which they became Caliphs.
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Two: The ones promised
entry into heaven
These were the four rightly-guided
Caliphs, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, Saad
ibn Abi Waqqas, Talhah ibn Ubaydillah,
al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, Abu Ubaydah
ibn al-Jarrah and Saeed ibn Zayd. May
Allah be pleased with them all. The
Prophet stated that these ten will be
in heaven. Other texts indicate that
heaven was assured to Bilal, Thabit ibn
Qays and Abdullah ibn Sallam.
Three: Members of the
Prophet’s household
These are five familial branches who
are forbidden to take charity. These are
the descendants of Ali, Ja‘far, Aqil, the
sons of Abu Talib, and the descendants
of al-Abbas and al-Harith ibn Abd al-
Muttalib. The Prophet says: ‘Allah, the
Mighty, the Exalted, chose Kinanah
out of the Ismail’s descendants, and
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from Kinanah He chose the Quraysh.
He then chose the Hashimites from
among the Quraysh and chose me
out of the Hashimites’. ‘I remind you
to fear Allah in [your attitude to] my
household. I remind you to fear Allah
in [your attitude to] my household’. Al-
Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib complained
to him that some of the people of
Quraysh distanced themselves from
the Hashimites. He said to him: ‘By
Allah, no one will have faith unless he
loves you on account of your being my
relatives’.
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Needless to say, the Prophet’s
honourable wives belonged to his
household. Allah says: ‘Allah only
wants to remove all that is loathsome
from you, you members of the
[Prophet’s] household, and to purify
you fully.’ (33: 33). Allah chose them
for His messenger and He made them
his wives in this present life and in the
life to come, and He gave them the
title ‘Mothers of the Believers’. The
most distinguished among them were
Khadijah, then A’ishah bint Abu Bakr.
The rest were Sawdah bint Zimaah,
Hafsah bint Umar, Umm Salamah,
Umm Habibah bint Abu Sufyan,
Safiyyah bint Huyay, Zaynab bint Jahsh,
Juwayriyyah, Maymunah and Zaynab
bint Khuzaymah. May Allah be pleased
with them all.
Our duty towards the Prophet’s
companions, irrespective of their
grades of distinction is as follows:
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A To love and be loyal to them, to
pray that Allah may be pleased
with them and forgive them
their sins, and to praise them
as individuals and community.
Allah says: ‘The believers, men
and women, are friends to one
another.’ (9: 71). ‘Those who
come after them pray: “Our Lord!
Forgive us and forgive our brethren
who preceded us in faith. Leave
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no malice in our hearts towards
those who believe. Lord, You are
compassionate, ever merciful.’
(59: 10). The Prophet says: ‘The
mark of faith is to love the Ansar,
and the mark of hypocrisy is to
hate the Ansar’’. Ali said: ‘By Him
who splits the seed and creates
man it is the unlettered Prophet’s
promise to me that “None but a
believer loves me and none but a
hypocrite hates me”.’
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B To keep our hearts free of any
ill-feeling towards them and to
refrain from any verbal abuse
to any of them. Allah says: ‘[Our
Lord], leave no malice in our
hearts towards those who believe.
Lord, You are compassionate,
ever merciful.’ (59: 10). The
Prophet says: ‘Do not revile my
companions. By Him who holds
my soul in His hand, if any of you
spends [for Allah’s cause] the like
of Mount Uhud in gold, he would
not attain the equivalent of the
fill of the cupped hands of any
one of them, or even half of that’.
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C To refrain from making
any judgement about their
differences, giving them every
benefit of good intention and
stating that they all acted to the
best of their discretion. As such,
they were either right and they
would earn double reward, or
wrong and they would earn a
single reward. They have done
great acts in the service of Islam
and exerted their best efforts.
All this should earn them the
forgiveness of their sins, if any.
D To dissociate ourselves from the
practice of the Shia, who exaggerate
the high status of the members of
the Prophet’s household and go
too far in hating and reviling the
Prophet’s other companions. Also
to dissociate ourselves from the
practice of others who dislike and
criticise members of the Prophet’s
household.
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To download and read the complete book,
click on the cover picture here.
This is an excerpt
of a larger book titled
“The Islamic Faith,
A Simplified Presentation”
by Abd Ar-Rahman
bin Abd Al-Kareem Ash-Sheha.
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