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THE COMPANIONS IN HADITH
Besides the Qur’an, the
Prophet himself, upon him be peace and blessings,
praised the Companions and warned Muslims against
attacks and insulting words about them. For
example:
Bukhari, Muslim and other
Traditionists relate from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri
that God’s Messenger warned:
Do not curse my Companions!
Do not curse my Companions! I swear by Him in
Whose hand my life is that, even if one among
you had as much gold as Mount Uhud and spent it
in the way of God, this would not be equal in
reward to a few handfuls of them or even to half
of that.1
This is certainly so because
they accepted Islam and preached and protected
it when circumstances were most severe. Besides,
according to the rule ‘the cause is like the
doer’, the reward gained by all Muslims so far
and yet to come until the Last Day has been, and
will be, added to the record of the Companions,
without, of course, diminishing anything from
the reward of the doers themselves. Had it not
been for the efforts of the Companions to spread
Islam, to convey it to the peoples of the world,
no one could have the possibility of knowing of
Islam, and, therefore, being Muslim. So, all the
Muslims coming after the Companions should feel
indebted to the Companions and, rather than
thinking of criticizing them, should pray for
them as the Qur’an teaches us to:
As for those who came
after them, they say, Our Lord, forgive us
and our brothers who preceded us in belief,
and put not into our hearts any rancor towards those who believe. Our Lord, surely
You are the All-Gentle, the
All-Compassionate. (al-Hashr, 59.10)
Tirmidhi and Ibn Hibban quote
‘Abdullah ibn Mughaffal that God’s Messenger
warned:
Oh God, Oh God! Refrain
from using bad language about my Companions!
Oh God, Oh God! Refrain from using bad
language about my Companions! Do not make
them the target of your attacks after me!
Whoever loves them, loves them on account of
his love of me; whoever hates them, hates
them on account of his hatred of me. He who
hurts them, has hurt me, and he who hurts
me, has hurt God, he who hurts God, God will
punish him.2
Imam Muslim relates in his
Sahih that God’s Messenger, upon him be peace
and blessings, declared:
The stars are means of
security for the heaven, [that is, the
heaven is maintained because of the delicate
order among the stars]. When the stars are
scattered [when that order collapses], what
was promised for the heaven befalls it [i.e.
the final destruction of the universe]. I am
the means of security for my Companions [my
Companions will continue to live in peace
and security as long as I am alive]. When I
leave the world, what was promised for my
Companions will befall them. My Companions
are means of security for my nation (Ummah).
When my Companions leave the world, what was
promised for my Ummah will befall them [they
will be exposed to many misfortunes and
calamities].3
As recorded in authentic
books of Tradition, including Bukhari and
Muslim, God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, declared:
The best of people are
those living in my time. Then come those who
follow them, and then come those who follow
them. Those will be followed by a generation
whose witness is sometimes true, sometimes
false.4
The time of the Companions
and the two succeeding generations was the time
of truthfulness. People of great righteousness
and scholars of utmost exactitude appeared among
those first three generations of Islam. Among
the later generations were many who told lies
and perjured themselves in order to reinforce
false beliefs or for worldly aims. It was
natural for liars, for members of heterodox
sects (as it is for biased Orientalists and
their blind followers in the Muslim world), to
lie against the Companions and the pure Imams of
the two generations succeeding them. For the
Companions and those Imams were strongholds of
Islam, and strengthened its pillars.
In his
Hilyat al-Awliya’,
Abu Nu‘aym quotes ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar as
saying:
Whoever desires to follow
a straight path, should follow the path of
those who passed away. They are the
Companions of Muhammad, upon him be peace
and blessings. They are the best among his
Ummah, the purest in heart, the deepest in
knowledge, and the farthest from false
display of piety. They are a community whom
God chose for the company of His Prophet and
the conveyance of His religion. Try to be
like them in conduct and follow their way.
They are the Companions of Muhammad, upon
him be peace and blessings. I swear by God,
the Lord of the Ka‘ba, that they were on
true guidance.5
As recorded by Tabarani and
Ibn al-Athir, ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud, who was
among the first to embrace Islam in Makka and
sent to Kufa as a teacher by ‘Umar, said:
God looked at the hearts
of His true servants and chose Muhammad,
upon him be peace and blessings, to send to
His creatures as a Messenger. Then, He
looked at the hearts of people and chose his
Companions as the helpers of His religion
and the viziers of His Prophet, upon him be
peace and blessings.6
Ibn Mas‘ud also said
concerning the Companions.
You may excel the
Companions of God’s Messenger, upon him be
peace and blessings, in fasting, praying and
in striving to worship God better. Yet they
are better than you. For they give no heed
to the world and are most desirous of the
Hereafter.7
O God, bestow blessings and
peace an our Master Muhammad, who said: “My
Companions are like the stars; whichever of them
you follow, you will be rightly guided. The best
of the ages is my age.”-and on his family and
Companions.
Glory be to You! We have no
knowledge save what You have taught us. Surely
you are the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
1. Bukhari, “Fada’il al-Ashab,”
5; Muslim, “Fada’il al-Sahaba,” 221.
2. Tirmidhi, “Manaqib,”
58; I. Hibban, 9.189; I. Hanbal, 5.57.
3. Muslim, “Fada’il al-Sahaba,”
207.
4. Muslim, “Fada’il al-Sahaba,”
212; Bukhari, “Fada’il al-Ashab,” 1.
5. Abu Nu‘aym, Hilya,
1.305.
6. Abu Nu‘aym,
Hilya,
1.375.
7.
Ibid., 1.135.
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