Archive for the ‘Merits of Sahaba’ Category
Importance of Following the Sahaba (رضي الله عنهم)
Explanation of hadith:
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:
… those of you who live long among you after me will see great disagreement. You must then follow my sunnah and that of the rightly-guided caliphs. Hold to it and stick fast to it. Avoid novelties, for every novelty is an innovation, and every innovation is an error.
[Sunan Abu Dawud]
Shaykh Ibn Taymiyah on the Sahabah (رضي الله عنهم)
Among the fundamentals of the people of the Sunnah and the community is purity of heart and tongue toward the Companions (رضي الله عنهم) of the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) of Allah just as Allah has described them:
“Those who came after them (the Sahabah) say: ‘Our Lord forgive us. Forgive our brethren who preceded us in faith. Purify our hearts of any rancor toward the believers. Our Lord, You are Gentle, Compassionate.”
(al-Hashr 59/l0)
Obey the saying of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) :
“Do not revile my companions (رضي الله عنهم). By (Allah) in Whose Hand my soul is!, if any one of you spends gold (piled up) like (mount) ‘Uhud it will not equal a pint of any one of them, nor its half.”
(al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu-Dawud, at-Tirmidhi Ibn Majah, Ibn Hanbal)
(The people of the Sunnah) accept what the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the consensus brought them of the Sahabah’s (رضي الله عنهم) virtues and high ranks; So they prefer those who spent (their wealth) and fought before the victory -which is the treaty of al-Hudaybiyah – over those who spent and fought after it. They prefer the Muhajirun (رضي الله عنهم) (Immigrants) over the Ansar (رضي الله عنهم) (Helpers). They believe that Allah said to the people of Badr – they were over three hundred-: “Do whatever you wish, I have already forgiven you.” (Abu Dawud)
And “they believe that no one who pledged allegiance to the Prophet (peace be upon him) under the tree will enter Hell” (Muslim), as the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) had declared; but that Allah was pleased with them and they with Him – and they were more than one thousand and four hundred.
They assign to Paradise whoever the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) of Allah assigned there such as the ten, and Thabit Ibn Qays Ibn Shammas (رضي الله عنه), and others of amongst the Sahabah (رضي الله عنهم).
They accept what has been reported continuously from the Prince of the Believers, ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه), and from others, that the best men of this ‘Ummah after its Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) are: Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه); then ‘Umar (رضي الله عنه); third, ‘Uthman (رضي الله عنه), and fourth, ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه). All Traditions have indicated, and all Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them all) have agreed upon giving priority to ‘Uthman (رضي الله عنه) out of regard for his allegiance (al-Bai’ah), although some of the people of the Sunnah are disputing over whether ‘Uthman (رضي الله عنه) or ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) has the priority, after they (the people of the Sunnah) had agreed upon giving priority to Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) and ‘Umar (رضي الله عنه). Some people gave the priority to ‘Uthman (رضي الله عنه) and kept silent and considered ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) to be the fourth. However, some people preferred ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه). And some remained neutral. But the people of the Sunnah settled on preferring ‘Uthman (رضي الله عنه), even though this matter – the matter of ‘Uthman (رضي الله عنه) and ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) – is not of the fundamentals. The majority of the people of the Sunnah do not consider disagreeing in this matter as being misled. Rather, it is in the matter of the “Question of the Caliphate” where they consider the disagreeing person to be misled.
Ahl as-Sunnah believe that the Caliph after the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه); then ‘Umar (رضي الله عنه); then ‘Uthman (رضي الله عنه), then ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه), and that whoever contests the Caliphate of any one of these Imams is indeed more lost than an ass.
[Aqidah al wasitiyah]
Strength of the Ummah
The Ummah’s strength does not lie in money, natural resources or numbers – we have all of these in abundance today, whereas the ummah at the time of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and his companions (رضي الله عنهم) had very little of any of them. The source of the ummah’s strength lies in Islam and in its adherence to the way of the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Imam Malik Said:
لا يصلح آخر هذه الأمة إلا بما صلح به أولها
The latter part of this Ummah will not be rectified except by that which rectified its earlier part.
Abu Zur’ah ar Razi on the Companions (رضي الله عنهم)
Abu Zur’ah ar Razi said:
If you see a man looking down upon the companions (رضي الله عنهم) of the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) of Allah, know that he is a pervert. This is because the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is true, the Qur’an is true and what the Qur’an brought is true. All this is brought to us by the companions (رضي الله عنهم). These pervert only wanted to disparage our witnesses ( the companions (رضي الله عنهم)) in order to nullify the book of Allah and the sunnah. Therefore, they are rather the ones who should be disparaged.
[Manaahil Al-‘Irfaan]
Trait most hated by companions (رضي الله عنهم)
‘Aisha (رضي الله عنها) said:
“There was not a trait most reprehensible in the sight of Prophet’s (صلى الله عليه وسلم) companions (رضي الله عنهم) more than lying. Whenever the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) of Allah found any of his companions (رضي الله عنهم) lying, that impression would not depart from his heart until he was vividly shown that the companion had sincerely turned to Allah in repentance.
[Muslim in his introdution to his sahih]
‘Umar Ibn Khattab (رضي الله عنه) said:
The dearest of you as long as you have not met us are the best in names. But after we had seen you, the best of you to us are the best of you in character. When we scrutinise you, the dearest of you to us are the most truthful of you in speech.
[Ibn Abi Dunya]
‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) said:
I am informing you of what I heard from Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم). To fall down from the sky is dearer to me than to invent lie against him.
[Bukhari and Muslim]
“Whoever invents a lie against me…
Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:
من كذب علي متعمدا فليتبوأ مقعده من النار
“Whoever invents a lie against me should take up his seat in the hell-fire.”
[Bukhari and others]
This hadith is mutawaatir (consecutive) and is reported by 62 companions (رضي الله عنهم) among whom 10 are given glad tidings of paradise. No other hadith is reported by more than 60 companions (رضي الله عنهم).
Women Companions (رضي الله عنهن) zeal for knowledge
The womenfolk once sent their delegate to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) to tell him:
O Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) of Allah, Men have dominated your attention to the exclusion of us women. So, appoint for us a day in which we can come to you and learn from you some of what Allah had taught you.
Sahih Bukhari and Muslim
The Virtue of Muhammad’s (صلى الله عليه وسلم) Companions (رضي الله عنهم) over the Companions of all Other Prophets (عليهم السلام)
It is important to point out the virtue of Muhammad’s (صلى الله عليه وسلم) Companions (رضي الله عنهم) over the companions of the other Prophets (عليهم السلام). This includes firmness in the religion, patience and the lack of arrogance, may Allah be pleased with them. Although the Companions accompanied the Prophet in his travels and battles, such as during the battle of Tabuk, in intense heat and hardship, they did not ask for a miracle, though this was easy for the Prophet by Allah’s leave. And when the Companions became hungry, they merely asked the Prophet – to invoke Allah – for an increase in the amount of food. They collected whatever food they had and brought it to the Prophet , and he asked Allah to bless it, told each of them to take some food, and they filled every pot they had. Also, when they needed rain, the Prophet asked Allah to send down rain, and a rain cloud came. They drank, gave water to their camels and filled their water skins. When they looked around, they found that the cloud had only rained on their camp. This is the best example of those who were willing to accept Allah’s decision and follow the Messenger of Allah .
A huge fish that lasted for 18 days…
Imam Malik bin Anas recorded that Jabir bin `Abdullah (رضي الله عنه) said, “Allah’s Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم ) sent an army towards the east coast and appointed Abu `Ubaydah bin Al-Jarrah (رضي الله عنه) as their commander, and the army consisted of three hundred men, including myself. We marched on until we reached a place where our food was about to finish. Abu `Ubaydah (رضي الله عنه) ordered us to collect all the food for our journey, and it was collected in two bags of dates. Abu `Ubaydah kept on giving us our daily ration in small amounts from it, until it was exhausted. The share of each of us used to be one date only.” I (one of the narrators from Jabir) said, “How could one date suffice for you” Jabir replied, “We came to know its value when even that finished.” Jabir added, “When we reached the seashore, we saw a huge fish which was like a small mountain. The army ate from it for eighteen days. Then Abu `Ubaydah ordered that two of its ribs be affixed in the ground. Then he ordered that a she-camel be ridden, and it passed under the two ribs (forming an arch) without touching them.”
This Hadith was also collected in the Two Sahihs.
When the verse concerning Khamr was revealed…
Imam Ahmad recorded that Anas (رضي الله عنه) said, “I once was giving an alcoholic beverage to Abu `Ubaydah bin Al-Jarrah (رضي الله عنه), `Ubayy bin Ka`b (رضي الله عنه), Suhayl bin Bayda’ (رضي الله عنه) and several of their friends meeting at Abu Talhah’s (رضي الله عنه) house. When they were almost intoxicated, some Muslims came and said, `Did you not know that Khamr has been prohibited’ They said, `We’ll wait and ask.’ They then said, `O Anas! Spill the remaining alcohol out of your container.’ By Allah! They never drank it again, and their Khamr at that time was made from unripe and normal dates.”’ This is also recorded in the Two Sahihs.
In another narration by Anas, “I was the butler of the people in the house of Abu Talhah when Khamr was prohibited, and in those days alcohol was made from unripe and normal dates. A caller then heralded, and Abu Talhah ordered me to see what it was about. So I found that a person was announcing that alcoholic drinks had been prohibited. Abu Talhah ordered me to go out and spill the wine. I went out and spilled it, and it flowed in the streets of Al-Madinah. Some people said, `Some people were killed (before the prohibition of Khamr) and wine was still in their stomachs.’ Later on, Allah’s revelation came,
[لَيْسَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَـتِ جُنَاحٌ فِيمَا طَعِمُواْ]
(Those who believe and do righteous good deeds, there is no sin on them for what they ate…)[5:93].”
Ibn Jarir recorded that Anas bin Malik said, “I was serving Abu Talhah, Abu `Ubaydah bin Al-Jarrah, Abu Dujanah, Mu`adh bin Jabal and Suhayl bin Bayda’, until they became intoxicated from an alcoholic drink made of mixed unripe and normal dates. Then I heard someone herald, `Khamr has been made illegal.’ So no one went in or out until we spilled the alcohol and broke its barrels. Some of us then performed ablution and others took a shower, and we wore some perfume. We then went out to the Masjid while the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم ) was reciting,
[يَـأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالاٌّنصَابُ وَالاٌّزْلاَمُ رِجْسٌ مِّنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَـنِ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ]
(O you who believe! Khamr, Maysir, Ansab, and Azlam are only an abomination of Shaytan’s handiwork. So avoid that…)[5:90], until,
[فَهَلْ أَنْتُمْ مُّنتَهُونَ]
(So, will you not then abstain)[5:91]. A man asked, `O Allah’s Messenger! What about those who died drinking it (before the prohibtion of Khamr)?’ Allah sent down the verse,
[لَيْسَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَـتِ جُنَاحٌ فِيمَا طَعِمُواْ]
(Those who believe and do righteous good deeds, there is no sin on them for what they ate.)[5:93].”
The lives of companions 