KHUTAB XI: 11. THE POSITION OF THE ṢAḤĀBAH (4)

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 upholders 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 that 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 their 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 al-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

https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/عبد_الله_بن_جعفر_بن_أبي_طالب

---

[1] I have dealt with Ibn ‘Abbās in details four times here in the khuṭbah in 26.4.2013, 31.05,2013, 14.06.2013 and 28.06.2013. You can find them in my Selected Khuṭab vol. 5, no. 14, pp. 79-84, no. 17, pp. 101-106, no. 18, pp. 107-112, and no. 19, pp. 113-124.