Companions

The

Companions

Love and sacrifice for

our beloved Prophet

(may Allah bless him and grant him peace)

Extracts from Destination Paradise by Sayyid Ale Rasool Nazmi

1. WHO IS A COMPANION OF THE PROPHET?

A group scholar of Hadith are of the view that a Sahabi is a person who had the opportunity to live with Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (Sallallhu Alaihi Wassallam) (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam) for quite a long time.

According to Sayyiduna Sa’eed bin Musayyab Taba’ee, a Sahabi is the person who participated in one or two battles along with the Glorious Prophet of Islam (Sallallhu Alaihi Wassallam) and who stayed with him at least for a year or two. Some scholars say that any person who has narrated a tradition of the Holy Prophet (Sallallhu Alaihi Wassallam) can be called a Sahabi.

Allama Sakhawi writes in “Fathul Mughees”: “A Sahabi is the person who accompanied the Holy Prophet (Sallallhu Alaihi Wassallam) for a long time with the objective of following his traditions and attaining knowledge from him. Those who lived with the Prophet for a long time without the objective of attaining knowledge from him cannot be termed as Sahabi. Also those persons who had the objective of attaining knowledge from the Holy Prophet (Sallallhu Alaihi Wassallam) (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam) but could not live with him for a long time cannot be called a Sahabi, like the members of various delegations.”1

1 Fathul Mughees, p. 371

Some scholars say that any adult and sane Muslim who saw the Beloved Habbeb (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam) (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam) can be called a Sahabi. Others say that any Muslim who lived during the lifetime of Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (Sallallhu Alaihi Wassallam) (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam) can be termed as Sahabi. A group of Muhaditheen (Hadith scholars) including Imam Ahmad Ali bin Madyani and Imam Bukhari observe that a Sahabi is the person who saw or met the Holy Prophet (Sallallhu Alaihi Wassallam) in his capacity as a Muslim. Sayyiduna Abdullah Ibne-Maktoom was a blind man and could not see the Holy Prophet (Sallallhu Alaihi Wassallam) (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam). But since he had the privilege of meeting the Beloved Habbeb (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam) (Sallallahu 3 www.GardensOfSunnah.co.uk

Alaihi Wassallam), he is given the title of Sahabi. Imam Ahmad bin Hambal says that any person who saw and attended the company of Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (Sallallhu Alaihi Wassallam) (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam) for a month or a day or a minute is a Sahabi. Imam Bukhari says any Muslim who accompanied the Holy Prophet (Sallallhu Alaihi Wassallam) (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam) or saw him is a Sahabi.2

2 Usdul-Ghaaba, Vol. I, p.12

It is very difficult to ascertain the total number of the Companions of the Beloved Habbeb (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam) (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam). Allama Ibne-Athir Jurzi writes in “Usud-ul-Ghabah”: “Had the Companions of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam) maintained a record of the names of the contemporary Sahaba, their number would have been much greater than what is described by Ulama.”

The Books of Hadith reveal that the number of the Companions of the Holy Prophet (Sallallhu Alaihi Wassallam) (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam) went up day by day after the Hijrah. According to report in Sahih Bukhari, the Beloved Habbeb (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam) (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam) one day ordered: “Give me the names of those who recite the Kalima of Islam.” And when a list of such persons was prepared as per the Holy Prophet (Sallallhu Alaihi Wassallam)’s instructions, it contained the names of over one thousand five hundred Muslims. But this Hadith does not give the exact date of this order. Hafiz Ibne-Hajar has written in “Fat’hul-Baari” that most probably Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (Sallallhu Alaihi Wassallam) (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam) gave the order when they were going for the Uhud Battle. Others opine that the order was given at the time of the Battle of Trench. According to Dawoodi this order dates back to Hudaybiah.

Later the number of Companions of the Apostle of Allah increased and over ten thousand Sahaba accompanied him in the Conquest of Makkatul Mukarrama. During the Battle of Hunain they numbered twelve thousand besides attendants and women and some thirty thousand in the Battle of Tabuk. The Farewell Pilgrimage witnessed 4 www.GardensOfSunnah.co.uk

forty thousand Sahaba. Thus, by the tenth year of Hijrah, not a single Muslim was left in Makkatul Mukarrama and Taif who did not attend the Farewell Pilgrimage. Imam Shafa’ee says that at the time of the Holy Prophet (Sallallhu Alaihi Wassallam)’s (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam) demise, there existed sixty thousand Muslims, of them thirty thousand were in Madina and an equal number in other places. Abu Zar’ah Razi fix the number of Muslims at the time of Beloved Habbeb (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam)’s (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam) demise as more than one hundred thousand, including women who narrated Hadith from Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (Sallallhu Alaihi Wassallam) (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam).

Moulana Shah Abdul Aziz Muhaddith Dehlawi writes: “The Ahl-e-Sunnat believes that all the Sahaba were just and truthful. My father Shah Wali’ullah Muhaddith Dehlawi has investigated the meaning of the word ‘just’ and ‘truthful’ and has come to the conclusion that that these words correspond to their truthfulness in narrating the Hadith. We have thoroughly scanned the biographies of all the companions of the Holy Prophet (Sallallhu Alaihi Wassallam) (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam). We have also studied the lives of those people who were involved in civil wars and internal turmoil’s. We have reached to the conclusion that even these people believed that any false report associated with the Holy Prophet (Sallallhu Alaihi Wassallam) (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam) is a worse crime and such reporting should strictly be avoided.” 3

3 Zafar-ul-Amani, pp. 311-313