11. THE
POSITION OF THE ṢAḤĀBAH (4)
The ṣaḥābah (companions
of the Prophet) based on Islamic law, reason and reality do not belong to the same degree. Muslim scholars among ahl
al-sunnah wa ’l-jamā‘ah (أَهْلُ السُّنَّةِ وَ
الْجَمَاعَة), namely, “the
upholder of the Sunnah of the Prophet (ﷺ) and the Muslim community” believe that individually, the best
person after the Prophet (ﷺ) are: Abū Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmān, ‘Ali, then the remaining of the
ten persons promised with Paradise, namely, al-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwām, Ṭalḥah
ibn ‘Ubayd Allāh, Sa‘d ibn Abī Waqqāṣ, Abū ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrāḥ, ‘Abd al-Raḥmān
ibn ‘Awf, and Sa‘īd ibn Zayd. The names of these ten persons promised with
Paradise were mentioned by the Prophet (ﷺ) as
narrated by Sa‘īd ibn Zayd and reported by Abū Dā’ūd and others. Next, the
participants in the battle of Badr and the Pledge of Riḍwān, as the Prophet (ﷺ) said narrated by Jābir:
لَنْ يَدْخُلَ النَّارَ
رَجُلٌ شَهِدَ بَدْرًا وَالْحُدَيْبِيَةَ (رواه أحمد وأصحاب السّنن)
A person who participated in the battle of
Badr and the Ḥudaybiyyah Treaty will never
enter
Hellfire. (Reported by Ahmad and
others)
لَا يَدْخُلُ النَّارَ
أَحَدٌ مِمَّنْ بَايَعَ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَة (رواه أحمد)
A person who made allegiance under the tree
would not enter Hell (Reported by Ahmad)
In general the muhājirūn who migrated to Madinah to escape the
Quraysh persecution and the anṣār who helped them
are among the people who were promised with Paradise, as mentioned in Qur’ān
9:100.
The
Prophet (ﷺ) besides
stating the virtues of his ṣaḥābah he also warned people from hurting
them. He said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ اخْتَارَنِي، وَاخْتَارَ لِي أَصْحَابًا، فَجَعَلَ لِي بَيْنَهُمْ
وُزَرَاءَ، وَأَنْصَارًا،
وَأَصْهَارًا، فَمَنْ سَبَّهُمْ فَعَلَيْهِ لَعْنَةُ اللَّهِ وَالْمَلائِكَةِ
وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ...
(رواه الطبراني).
Verily, Allah has
chosen me, and has chosen for me
companions, then He made among them viziers, helpers
and relatives in marriage for me. So, whoever abuses
them, upon them is the curse of Allah, the
angels and
all the people (Reported by al-Țabrānī)
The
Prophet (ﷺ)
also said:
خَيْرُ النَّاسِ قَرْنِي ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ
...
)رواه البخاري و مسلم)
The best of the people are in my generation, then
those
after them, then those after them…
(Reported by
al-Bukhārī and Muslim)
It is through the ṣaḥābah
we learn our religion, from one generation to another
until it reaches us. Without their sincerity, honesty, and truthfulness we will
not have the true Islam and the genuine Qur’ān. Their sincerity and
truthfulness are mentioned in the Qur’ān, as follows:
مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
رِجَالٌ صَدَقُوا مَا عَاهَدُوا اللَّهَ عَلَيْهِ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَضَى
نَحْبَهُ وَمِنْهُمْ
مَنْ يَنْتَظِرُ وَمَا بَدَّلُوا تَبْدِيلًا (الأحزاب:23)
Among
the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah and
showed not their backs to the disbelievers, of them some have fulfilled their
obligations
and some of them are still waiting, but they
never changed
(i.e.
they never proved treacherous to their covenant which
they
concluded with Allah) in the least (Q.
33:23)
The piety, perseverance and steadfastness of the ṣaḥābah in
Islam are mentioned in the Qur’ān, as follows:
مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاءُ
عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ
تَرَاهُمْ رُكَّعًا سُجَّدًا يَبْتَغُونَ فَضْلًا
مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَانًا
سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ
(الفتح:29)
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 on their
faces (foreheads) from the traces of (their)
prostration
(during prayers)." (Q. 48:29)
Although it is said that based on the definition of
the ṣaḥābah those who saw him even once or including children are among
them, disbelievers, hypocrites, and those who were known for their misbehave
are excluded from being among the ṣaḥābah. Although there were
many hypocrites in Madinah, their identities were known through their
behaviour. Although they were enemy from within, the Prophet (ﷺ) did not kill them, or people would accuse him
of killing his own followers. There was no danger of their being included among
the ṣaḥābah by mistake. When revelation came about them, their identity
had been known. Some examples are as follows:
وَمِمَّنْ حَوْلَكُمْ مِنَ الْأَعْرَابِ مُنَافِقُونَ
وَمِنْ أَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ مَرَدُوا عَلَى النِّفَاقِ لَا
تَعْلَمُهُمْ نَحْنُ نَعْلَمُهُمْ سَنُعَذِّبُهُمْ
مَرَّتَيْنِ ثُمَّ يُرَدُّونَ إِلَى عَذَابٍ عَظِيمٍ (التوبة:101)
Among
the bedouins around you, there are hypocrites,
and so
are some among the people of Madinah, who
persist in hypocrisy; you (O Muhammad) know
them
not, We know them. We shall punish them twice, and
thereafter they shall be brought back to a great
(horrible) torment. (Q. 9:101)
Ibn
‘Abbās narrated that while the Prophet (ﷺ) was standing and delivering his Friday sermon, he said: “Get
out, O So-and-So, as you are a hypocrite, get out O So-and-so, as you are a
hypocrite.” So, he expelled some people from the mosque and exposed them. While
they were walking out of the mosque ‘Umar who saw them felt embarrassed and kept
himself out of their sight.
وَلَوْ نَشَاءُ لَأَرَيْنَاكَهُمْ فَلَعَرَفْتَهُمْ
بِسِيمَاهُمْ وَلَتَعْرِفَنَّهُمْ فِي
لَحْنِ
الْقَوْلِ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ أَعْمَالَكُمْ (محمد:30)
Had We willed, We could have shown them to you, and
you should have known them by their marks; but
surely, you
will know them by the
tone of their speech! (Q. 47:30)
Although the Prophet (ﷺ) did not know all hypocrites by name, but
he knew them through their characteristics, “the tone of their speech,” and thay
Allah informed him fourteen or fifteen of them. The Prophet, in turn, told Ḥudhayfah
their names. When one of them passed away, ‘Umar waited for Ḥudhayfah; if the
dead person was a hypocrite he would not stand up to perform funeral prayer for
him.
According to Zayd ibn Aslam there were eight
people who did not join the Prophet (ﷺ) in the Tabuk campaign. They were: Jadd ibn Qays, Abū Lubābah, Ḥarām,
Aws, Hilāl, Kardam, Mirdās, and Abū Qays.
In the next verse Allah said that some of them repented for staying away from jihad out of
laziness, and their names were also recorded. Allah said:
وَآخَرُونَ اعْتَرَفُوا بِذُنُوبِهِمْ خَلَطُوا
عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَآخَرَ سَيِّئًا
عَسَى اللَّهُ أَنْ يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ
غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ (التوبة:102)
And (there are) others who have acknowledged
their sins,
they
have mixed a deed that was righteous with another
that was evil. Perhaps Allah will turn to them
in forgiveness. Surely, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Q. 9:102)
Who were they? They were: Jadd ibn Qays, Abū Lubābah, Ḥarām,
and Aws (جدُّ بن قيس، وأبو
لبابة، وحرام، وأوس). They were all inhabitants of
Madinah.
A man called al-Julās ibn Suwayd ibn
al-Ṣāmit: “If what Muhammad has brought were true, we would then become worse
than donkeys. If he were not true, we would not need this campaign.” ‘Āmir ibn
Qays told the Prophet (ﷺ) what he
had heard from him. Then the Prophet (ﷺ) called him and asked him whether he had said such-and-such. He
swore that he never did it. So, the Prophet (ﷺ) let him go, but ‘Āmir ibn Qays prayed to Allah to confirm what
he had said, and the Prophet said, “āmīn”. Then Allah revealed the
following verse:
يَحْلِفُونَ بِاللَّهِ مَا قالُوا وَلَقَدْ قالُوا
كَلِمَةَ الْكُفْرِ وَكَفَرُوا بَعْدَ إِسْلامِهِمْ وَهَمُّوا
بِما لَمْ يَنالُوا وَما نَقَمُوا إِلاَّ أَنْ أَغْناهُمُ
اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ فَإِنْ يَتُوبُوا
يَكُ خَيْراً لَهُمْ وَإِنْ يَتَوَلَّوْا يُعَذِّبْهُمُ
اللَّهُ عَذاباً أَلِيماً فِي الدُّنْيا وَالْآخِرَةِ
وَما لَهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ مِنْ وَلِيٍّ وَلا نَصِيرٍ
(التوبة:74)
They
swear by Allah that they said nothing
(bad), but
they really said the word of disbelief, and
they disbelieved
after accepting Islam, and they resolved that
(plot to
murder
Prophet Muhammad) which they were unable
to carry out, and they could not find any
cause to do so
except Allah and His Messenger had enriched them of
His
bounty. If then they repent, it will be better for them,
but if
they turn away, Allah will punish them with
a painful torment in this worldly life and in
the Hereafter.
And there is none for them on earth as a wali
(supporter, protector) or a helper. (Q. 9:74)
Al-Julās repented, and the Prophet accepted his
repentance.
The
characteristics of hypocrites were mentioned in 13 verses, (Qurān 2:8-20), i.e.,
pretending to believe, deceiving themselves, pretending to do good, etc., according
to al-Ṭabarī, their names had been recorded by Ibn Ḥishām’s and Ibn Isḥāq’s Sīrah.
Mujāhid also
said that he knew them, but did not want to mention them and their lineages in
his Tafsīr. In general, they did
not want to sacrifice his wealth and their souls for the sake of Islam, and
therefore, invented excuses.
With regard to children, we have some
examples: (1) ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Abbās;[1]
he was born 3 years before Hijrah, and when the Prophet passed away he was 13
years old. In spite of his young age he was the fifth among the seven people who reported most of the ḥadīths. They are: Abū Huryrah (5874 ḥadīths), Ibn ‘Umar (2630 ḥadīths),
Anas ibn Mālik (2286 ḥadīths), ‘Ā’shah (2210 ḥadīths), Ibn ‘Abbās
(1660 ḥadīths), Jābir ibn ‘Abd Allāh (1540 ḥadīths), and Abū Sa‘īd
al-Khuḍrī (1170 ḥadīths). (2) Al-Nu‘mān ibn Bashīr; he was born in 2 AH, and
was just a boy of nine years old when the Prophet passed away. Among the ḥadīths
narrated by him, is as follows:
الْحَلَالُ
بَيِّنٌ وَالْحَرَامُ بَيِّنٌ وَبَيْنَهُمَا مُشَبَّهَاتٌ لَا يَعْلَمُهَا كَثِيرٌ
مِنْ النَّاسِ…(متفق
عليه)
Verily, the lawful is
clear and the unlawful is clear, many
people do not know ...(Reported by Bukhārī and Muslim)
Al-Nu‘mān ibn Bashīr
was well-known
for his fatwās and his qaḍā’ (legal
judgments). In the time of Mu‘āwiyah he became wālī (mayor) of Kūfah
flor nine months, then became qāḍī (judge) in Syria. He was also
well-known for his generosity to the poor. He died in 65 AH. (3) ’Abd Allāh ibn
Ja‘far ibn Abī Ṭālib; he was born in 1 AH in Ethiopia where his parents took
refuge. He narrated many ḥadīth of the Prophet (ﷺ) despite his young age, and
therefore he was considered among young companions. He was the youngest of Banī
Hāshim clan. He and ‘Abd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr pledged the Prophet (ﷺ) in 8 AH despite their young
age of seven years old. He received ḥadīths from the Prophet, his uncle
‘Ali ibn Abī Ṭālib, his mother Asmā’ bint ‘Umays, Abū Bakr, ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān,
and ‘Ammār ibn Yāsir. He passed away in Madinah in 80 AH.
(CIVIC, 18 November, 2016)
المراجع:
المكتبة الشاملة
تفسير الطبري (ت. 310 هـ(
تفسير القرطبى (ت. 671 هـ(
تفسير ابن كثير (ت. 774 هـ(
M.M. Azami. Studies
in Hadīth Methodology and Literature.
http://fatwa.islamweb.net/fatwa/index.php?page=showfatwa&Option=FatwaId&Id=47533
http://mawdoo3.com/ من_هم_العشرة_المبشرين_بالجنة
http://submission.org/Prophets_Sahaba.html
http://www.nabulsi.com/blue/ar/te.php?art=11176
http://ar.islamway.net/article/18537
[1]I have dealt with Ibn ‘Abbās in details four times here in the khutbah;
in 26.4.2013, 31.05,2013, 14.06.2013 and 28.06.2013. You can find them in my Selected
Khutab vol. 5, no. 14, pp. 79-84, no. 17, pp. 101-106, no. 18, pp. 107-112,
and no. 19, pp. 113-124.
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