The Prophet's Companions: Exemplars Of Faith And Companionship

Opening Praise and Salutations

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and the righteous, and there is no aggression except against the wrongdoers. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and there is none worthy of worship except Allah, Lord of the worlds. And I bear witness that our master and our prophet Muhammad is His servant and His messenger, the one sent as a mercy to the worlds.

May Allah's prayers be upon him and upon his family and his companions, the good and the pure. My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, respected elders, and young students, السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته.

The Example of the Prophet and His Companions

In these coming weeks and months — or actually, as a true believer, throughout the year — we should be remembering the seerah of our beloved Rasul sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And what are the rights of our beloved Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam upon us. And how truly great he was as an individual, and an eternally relevant model of perfection.

But at the same time, Allah has not only given us the beautiful example of Rasul sallallahu alayhi wasallam:

— who was the best model for all humanity till the end of times. But on top of that, additional to Rasul sallallahu alayhi wasallam, we are so blessed, we are so honored, and we should be thankful to Allah, that He has given us the beautiful galaxy of sahaba and the sahabiyat, the companions of Rasul sallallahu alayhi wasallam, who also are a model for us to emulate, to follow in their footsteps. And this is an integral part of our deen.

It is actually mentioned in the books of aqeedah, in the books of our belief, and what is the maqam and position of the sahaba radhiyallahu anhum, and how loving them and revering them, respecting them, is an integral part of our deen.

Who Is a Sahabi? The Definition of Companionship

So just to take a step back — how do we define a sahabi? Who is a sahabi? The word sahabi comes from the word suhbah — companionship. And this also highlights the fact that how important it is to have good companionship. That is their defining attribute.

The sahaba were all mu'minoon and mukhlisoon — they were sincere, they were abidoon, they did ibadah, they were ulama, they were scholars, they performed salah, they discharged zakat, they were kind to their neighbors. They had many beautiful attributes. So when it came time to naming this group, Rasul sallallahu alayhi wasallam gave them the name of sahaba.

The Hadith of "My Brothers"

He himself said in one hadith — which, insha'Allah, is a basharah and glad tiding for us. In the wording of that hadith he names them and identifies them: "You are my sahaba."

How does that hadith go? Rasul sallallahu alayhi wasallam on one occasion said, "I am longing for and I wish I could see my brothers." So the sahaba radhiyallahu anhum ajma'een who were around him felt a little sad, or even a tinge of jealousy. They said, "يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، أَلَسْنَا إِخْوَانَكَ — O Messenger of Allah, are we not your brothers?" Awaddu means "I have that burning desire and love to see my brothers."

Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 4, Hadith 1963; also referenced in Musnad Ahmad)

"No, you are my companions — my ashab. My brothers that I am longing for, I have this burning desire to see them, are those who will come after me — they believe in me despite not having seen me."

May Allah make us amongst them — amongst those that Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam is longing to meet.

So this is the title sahaba — coming from suhba, meaning companionship. This is what elevated their status. This is what gave them the maqam that they had — that they had the company of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam.

Conditions for Being Considered a Sahabi

So the definition of a sahabi — sometimes we simply say, "Oh, the one who saw Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam." That cannot be the case because Abu Jahl also saw Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Or we will say the one who accepted Islam in the era of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. That's also not sufficient, because there are individuals who accepted Islam but did not see him — like Uwais al-Qarni rahimahullah, who accepted Islam in the era of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam but was doing khidmah of his mother in Yemen.

And Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam told him — and mentioned to other sahaba as well — فَفِيهِمَا فَجَاهِدْ — "Make your jihad in taking care of your parents." So he sought permission to visit Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, but his mother was dependent on his service, so Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam told him, "No, you stay, do the khidmah of your mother." Then he told Abu Bakr and Umar radhiyallahu anhumah, the sheikhain of the sahaba, that when he comes to Medina, you should ask him to make du'a for you. SubhanAllah.

Anyway, a sahabi is not only the one who was born in the era of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, or lived in his era, or accepted Islam in his era, but also stayed in the company of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam — even for a short period of time — which would qualify one to be a sahabi.

But there is one additional condition — which is a very sobering condition. And that is the condition that the individual must have passed away with iman. And the reason we have to add this condition is because there is a very small minority of individuals — but they do exist — who were born in the era of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, lived in his era, accepted Islam in his era, even saw him, and stayed in his companionship for some period of time. But then they did not die with iman. They either became one of the murtaddeen, followed the path of Musaylimah al-Kadhaab or Tulayha al-Asadi — these false prophets — or they rejected Islam and became among those who refused to pay zakat in the khilafah of Abu Bakr radhiyallahu anhu, or any other cause that led to their leaving Islam.

So if they died without Islam, then they are not a sahabi. None of the virtues of a sahabi would apply — in fact, they died as a kafir. And what counts is how a person dies: الاعتبارُ بالخواتيم — what counts in the court of Allah is how a person dies.

What Allah Says About the Sahaba in the Qur'an

What does Allah say about the sahaba in the Qur'an? Allah says in the ayah:

Those who were the early predecessors, from among those who migrated for the sake of Allah, and those who helped them from Madinah — these are the main categories of sahaba. This doesn't include every single sahabi, but the majority of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam's life in Madinah, these were the two primary categories.

The muhajireen who migrated from Makkah al-Mukarramah — they left their life savings, they left their properties, they left their families, for the sake of establishing the deen. They made that ultimate sacrifice. And then you have the ansar — who, subhanAllah, also divided up everything they had and gave everything. In some cases, even more than half. At the bare minimum, it starts from 50% onwards. How much they sacrificed to support the deen.

They preferred others over themselves, kept themselves and their children hungry, and fed others for the sake of Allah. These are the ansar.

Why does this not include every single sahabi? It's because besides the Muhajirun of Mecca and Ansar of Medina, particularly towards the end of Rasulullah's life — after the Sulh al-Hudaybiyyah and the Fath of Mecca — there were other tribes from around the Arabian Peninsula who accepted Islam. So they're not from the Aws and Khazraj of Medina, nor are they the Quraysh of Mecca — they're external tribes. But for the majority of Rasulullah's life, these were the two types of sahaba.

And then Allah says about them, His promise: رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ — that Allah is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Allah. Whenever we take the name of a sahabi, we all say رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ / عَنْهَا / عَنْهُمَا / عَنْهُمْ / عَنْهُنَّ — we invoke the du'a that Allah is pleased, be pleased with them. This is the promise of Allah, that He is pleased with the sahaba.

And Allah says: وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ — He has prepared for them gardens and rivers which flow. They will remain therein forever. خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا. This is the الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ — the great success. So this is a very beautiful basharah and glad tiding of their maqam.

The Rankings Among the Sahaba: Based on Sacrifice

Likewise, Allah mentions in the Qur'an the different levels among the sahaba. And the levels among the sahaba are different from the levels that we have amongst ourselves in our current society. The different tabaqat or categories — sometimes based on wealth, sometimes based on influence, sometimes based on beauty, sometimes based on education, sometimes based on power. These are the social rankings that we have. But there was a ranking among the sahaba that was given by Allah, given by Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And that ranking is not based on color or race or language or wealth or power or family or lineage.

Rather, that ranking was based on how much sacrifice was made for the deen. The more the sacrifice, the greater and higher the rank.

Allah says, for example, in Surah al-Hadid:

They can never be equal — those who strove and spent in the path of Allah before the conquest of Mecca, and those who came afterwards. Those who are prior to the conquest of Mecca, their level is greater and higher — أَعْظَمُ دَرَجَةً — higher in the eyes of Allah, compared to those who came afterwards.

Why is that? Very simple. Because before the conquest of Mecca, it was difficult — more challenging. The entire society was a society of shirk, and there were very few individuals holding on to tawheed, surrounded by mushrikun. And this was a very strange concept. The mushrikun were saying:

"Have all the gods been turned into just one god? How are we gonna survive with one? This is something very strange." So, frankly, the early Muslims faced a lot of persecution.

The Growth of Islam: From Badr to the Farewell Hajj

But after the Fath of Makkah, what happened is that many of the tribes around the Peninsula were just watching what was going on. There were people in Makkah in the old school of shirk, and the people of Medina in the new school of tawheed. So they were keeping score from the sidelines. Badr — the people of tawheed won. Uhud — the people of shirk won. Khandaq — the people of Medina won. So they were just waiting to side with the winners.

And then when the Fath of Makkah occurred, if you look at the graph, it just shoots up. Badr: 313. Uhud: 700. Then 1,400 at Hudaybiyyah in the 6th year. And then 10,000 sahaba in the Fath of Makkah in the 8th year. How did it go from 1,400 to 10,000? Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, the great tabi'i and muhaddith of Medina, mentions that this happened because, during the constant state of war, Muslims were not interacting with non-Muslims. But after the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, when they started meeting each other and trade opened up, people saw the attributes and character of the Muslims and started accepting Islam.

But after the Fath of Makkah, it goes from 10,000 at the conquest to 124,000 at Hajjat al-Wada', the Farewell Hajj. Look at that. So this is what Allah says:

"You will see the people entering into the religion of Allah in huge numbers" — because it was so easy now. So what is the value? The value is when it's difficult.

Islam Began as Something Strange — and Will Return as Such

And again, this is a basharah for us. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Book 36, Hadith 3988; also narrated in Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 270)

"Islam began as a very strange concept. And in the middle it became the dominant religion and way of life — as happened. But at the end of time, it will again become very strange." So, فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ — "Glad tidings for those who are considered strange. They are holding on to my sunnah when it is difficult, at the time of the fasad of my ummah."

So, insha'Allah, if we hold on to the sunnah in this day and age, then we can hope to be qualified to receive this great reward, insha'Allah.

The Ranks: Ashabul Badr, Hudaybiyyah, and Beyond

So this is the division of the sahaba: before the Fath and after the Fath. And before the Fath, we also see those who are Ashabul Badr — 313. They went and faced the army of a thousand, with few horses and few camels. They went to retrieve their stolen property — they didn't go with the intention to fight.

"You wanted to just go and get your stolen property back. But Allah had another intention. He wanted to establish the truth and show the falsehood." He wanted it to be يَوْمَ الْفُرْقَانِ يَوْمَ الْتَقَى الْجَمْعَانِ — the day of the criterion, when the two armies would face each other. One with no worldly means, and the other with all the worldly means — to establish:

So the Ashabul Badr received the help of Allah — 5,000 angels — even though the tip of one wing of one angel is sufficient for the whole world. When Jibril alayhis salam took one wing and picked up the city of Sadum — the nation of Lut alayhis salam — he turned it upside down, and it came down with such force that the crater became what is known as the Dead Sea region today. Those who were the originators of the sin referenced in:

So, 5,000 angels at Badr is there for moral support — to show the maqam. "Look, I am sending you 5,000 angels." Then those of Hudaybiyyah. Jabir ibn Abdullah radhiyallahu anhu said:

"On the day of Hudaybiyyah, we were 1,400. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said to us: 'You today are the best people on the surface of the entire earth.'" When they placed their hands in the hands of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam and took the pledge — Bay'at al-Ridwan. Allah says in Surah al-Fath:

"Indeed, Allah is pleased with the believers when they took the pledge under the tree" — the pledge that they would give their lives to defend Islam.

So the ranking was established on the same tartib — same order. When Umar radhiyallahu anhu was concerned because the coffers of the baytul mal were overflowing with wealth and he had no idea how to spend it, he started a gift system from the government. Not need-based, but honor-based — where every individual, based on their sacrifice, would receive monthly gold coins from the baytul mal. So the Ummahat al-Mu'minin had their level, then Hasan and Husayn, the grandsons of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Then whoever was still alive from the Ashara Mubashshara. Then Ashabul Badr, Ashabul Uhud, Khandaq, Hudaybiyyah — all the way down. It was higher for those who gave more sacrifice.

فَضَّلَ بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ — So this is the maqam of the sahaba, based on sacrifice.

Warnings Against Disrespecting the Sahaba

Not respecting the sahaba — what are some warnings? Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 22467; also referenced in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat of al-Tabarani)

"Verily Allah has selected me, and He selected for me my companions, my helpers, and my in-laws. Some people will come later — they will be cursing my companions and trying to find faults in them." Then he gave four prohibitions: "Never sit with such people. Never eat with such people. Never drink with such people. And never marry such people." SubhanAllah.

Abdullah ibn Masud radhiyallahu anhu said:

(Referenced in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir of al-Tabarani; also cited in Majma' al-Zawa'id)

"Do not curse the companions of Muhammad. For if one of them stands for a few moments in the ibadah of Allah, it is better than your entire lifetime of good deeds."

So they were selected by Allah; they have that maqam. Now, does that mean that they were faultless or innocent?

Ma'soom vs. Maghfur: The Difference Between Prophets and Companions

There are two different things. One is to be ma'soom — divinely protected from committing sins. That is the maqam of the anbiya. And one is maghfur — to be divinely forgiven of all sins. That is the maqam of the sahaba. It's very simple for us to make the difference: one is ma'soom and one is maghfur.

Ma'soom — in Urdu we say, "ma'soom bacha" meaning innocent child. But actually ma'soom is a passive participle from ismah — protection. Asim is the protector and ma'soom is the one protected. So ma'soom means the one who has divine protection such that he cannot commit sins. Perhaps his nafs would want to, but he is protected by Allah from committing sins.

When Zulaykha closed all the doors and seduced Yusuf alayhis salam, Allah says: "She was seducing him, and he would have also been drawn in — unless Allah protected him and showed him His sign." That is ismah at play. That is why Yusuf alayhis salam never committed the sin, despite being a young man — whether he had received prophethood at that point or not. The anbiya are ma'soom — protected from major and minor sins, before and after prophethood.

The sahaba don't have that divine protection. But the sahaba have another promise — what is that? Maghfirah. Allah has forgiven them. So if Allah has already forgiven them, then why would you and I want to object and find fault? Where are we? We are neither ma'soom — divinely protected — nor do we have a divine promise of forgiveness.

إِن شَاءَ غَفَرَ لَهُ وَإِن شَاءَ عَذَّبَهُ — "If Allah wishes, He may forgive. If Allah wishes, He may take us to account." That is where we stand. So we should not attack the maqam of the sahaba. We should not try to find fault in them. Rather, we need to respect them.

Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak on the Virtue of Suhbah

Somebody asked Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak rahimahullah: Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz is known as the fifth rightly guided khalifa — widely accepted as a great wali of Allah and among the tabi'een. He was a king and a khalifa from the Banu Umayyah, and he was so righteous and upright that the Banu Umayyah had to poison him within two and a half years because they couldn't stand how righteous he was. He had cut off all the illegal spending of public funds for the ruling family. Despite his brief khilafah, his name is known in history as the fifth rightly guided khalifa. And Muawiyah radhiyallahu anhu — there were different incidents that occurred in his life, particularly in the later part with Sayyidina Ali radhiyallahu anhu. So somebody posed this question to Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak: between Ameer Muawiyah radhiyallahu anhu and Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, how do you rank the two?

Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak rahimahullah gave such a powerful response. He said: "Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz — with all his lifetime accomplishments — if the entire world were populated with people exactly like him, and the total summation of all of their lifetime accomplishments were put on one side — it cannot equal the dust in the nostril of the horse on which Muawiyah radhiyallahu anhu was riding in the suhbah of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam."

So he said: this is where you're comparing the suhbah of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam with anything else. They have the fadl of suhbah. And that is what keeps them at that level. It's not kasbi — earned by one's own striving — it is wahbi — given as a gift and selected by Allah. It's not something you can achieve by doing a lot of ibadah, salah, siyam, mujahidah. They were selected by Allah. So this is their maqam.

The Sahaba as the Standard of Iman

May Allah allow us to understand that He has made their iman the standard for us. Allah says:

"Follow their way." And:

"When you are told: believe — كَمَا آمَنَ النَّاسُ — the way the sahaba believe." It's explicitly mentioned. The standard for your iman is what? The way these sahaba believe — that's how you must believe. The alif lam is specific: these particular people. So Allah has made their iman the standard, their mujahadah the standard, their love for Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam the standard. All their sifat — Allah has made their sifat the standard for us.

May Allah allow us to have that connection with them.

The Teacher and the Students: A Closing Reflection

And I conclude with this: there is a teacher and there are students. Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Book 1, Hadith 229; also referenced in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir of al-Tabarani)

"I have been sent as a teacher of all mankind." Yes, what the teacher teaches, we follow. But at the same time, we can never reach the level of the teacher. Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam had specific khasiyat — exclusive qualities. He performed sawm al-wisal — fasting continuously without suhoor or iftar. And he said: إِنِّي يُطْعِمُنِي رَبِّي وَيَسْقِينِي — "My Lord feeds me and gives me drink." We don't do that — it is prohibited for us. So he is special in certain aspects.

But the sahaba — they are like the gold medalist students. They are the first, second, and third place students of the class. The front-benchers. We are in the back bench. But we have an affinity with them, because we are classmates in the sense that we are students of the same Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. They are the best students, and we — Allah knows where we rank. But we can be inspired by the best students in the class — the sahaba radhiyallahu anhum ajma'een.

May Allah give us that connection. May Allah give us that love for them. And may He fill our hearts with their respect, and with the respect of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam.

Announcements

Please stand up and fill in the gaps, insha'Allah. Come closer. And perform the sunnah, insha'Allah.

Please pass the donation boxes from the left side to the right side. Please give opportunity to others to donate as well. Please ensure the boxes reach the other side. الصَّدَقَةُ تَدْفَعُ الْبَلَاء — Sadaqah removes calamities and draws the mercy of Allah.

Please save the date — as mentioned, the Seerah Conference is coming: October 13th and 14th. Covering different aspects of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam's life. Every year we have a Seerah Conference, and this year, insha'Allah, will be a phenomenal one. A very unique experience — for the first time, we will have a full range of female speakers, 'alimat, who will address the women with live interaction. And on the men's side, we'll have the men's speakers as well — two parallel Seerah Conferences. We used to have one or two separate female talks, but now we'll have a complete parallel program.

Please note: tomorrow after Fajr, we'll have our Fajr Tazkiyah program with breakfast. Tafsir on Tuesdays, insha'Allah. The Sunday school is open as well — please register your children. You can see more information on the website.

On the community center side in the gym: Tuesday — women's basketball, 8 to 10 p.m. Wednesday — men's volleyball. Thursday — men's basketball. Friday — jiu-jitsu and martial arts.

There are also LGBTQ education opt-out forms being distributed outside. If you want to protect your children in the public school systems, you will find information on how to write an opt-out letter. Please help close family and friends so that they can also protect their children from this fitna that is engulfing society. May Allah protect all of us and our children.

There is a request for du'a for Brother Siddiq Nizam, father of Brother Saad Siddiqi, previous ICNA Chicago president. He passed away. May Allah accept all his good deeds and forgive his sins. Ameen.