The Sahaba: Chosen Companions And Their Enduring Legacy

By Mawlana Yusuf Sulaiman | 2026-06-29T17:50:31.078616+00:00 | Topic: Prophets

Jumu'ah Khutbah — Mawlana Yusuf Sulaiman

Insha'Allah, if all the brothers can please move forward — insha'Allah the masjid will soon get packed. So insha'Allah, if we can all fill the rows in front of us, insha'Allah ta'ala.

Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen, wa salatu wa salamu ala rasoolil ameen, amma ba'd.

Fa qala Allahu ta'ala fi kitabihil majeed, ba'da na'udhu billahi minash shaitanir rajeem, bismillahir rahmanir raheem:

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِۦ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ
(Quran 3:102)

And Nabi ﷺ has told us:

الْمَرْءُ عَلَى دِينِ خَلِيلِهِ فَلْيَنْظُرْ أَحَدُكُمْ مَنْ يُخَالِلُ

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4833; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2378)

"A man is upon the religion of his close friend, so let each of you look at whom he takes as a close friend."

We ask Allah that nothing gets in between ourselves and Jumu'ah. Ameen.

The Prophet ﷺ — Sent for All of Humanity

Nabi ﷺ, as he was sent not only to Quraysh, and not only to the people of Mecca, and not only to the people of Hijaz, but he was sent for the entire universe — rahmatan lil 'alameen — for the entire planet, for all people and all nations, till the end of time. This is part of our aqeedah, this is part of our belief, that Nabi ﷺ is khatamun nabiyyin, the seal of all prophets. There is no prophet to come after him, and he is the last of the prophets, afdalul anbiya, the most virtuous of all prophets.

However, Allah did not leave Nabi ﷺ alone — Nabi ﷺ was given a group of people. Nabi ﷺ was given his supporters. Nabi ﷺ was given his companions.

The Sahaba — Chosen Companions of the Prophet ﷺ

These companions of Nabi ﷺ are chosen people that we call the sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een. The Arabic word sahaba comes from sohba — it comes from the companionship, the fact that they spent time with the Prophet ﷺ. After the anbiya and after the prophets, the most virtuous of people are the sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een.

The mere fact that Allah chose them to be in the companionship, to have met the Prophet ﷺ in the state of iman, has given them a rank that none of us can achieve. No matter how righteous a person may be, no matter how engaged in a'mal a person may be, no matter all the good things he may do — their rank can never reach the anbiya, and their rank can never reach the sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een. These are chosen ranks by Allah.

These are people of whom Allah has said in the Qur'an:

وَٱلسَّٰبِقُونَ ٱلْأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ ٱلْمُهَٰجِرِينَ وَٱلْأَنصَارِ وَٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّبَعُوهُم بِإِحْسَٰنٍۢ رَّضِىَ ٱللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا۟ عَنْهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّٰتٍۢ تَجْرِى تَحْتَهَا ٱلْأَنْهَٰرُ خَٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَدًۭا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ
(Quran 9:100)

That Allah is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Allah.

The sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een, were not ma'soom — they were not infallible, they were not sin-free. They might have made mistakes, but they were maghfur — they were forgiven. They are a group of people that Allah has stated in the Qur'an that He is pleased with them. There are certain sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een, whom Nabi ﷺ in one hadith explicitly said, "He is in Jannah, he is in Jannah, and he is in Jannah." And we know them as the ashara al-mubashshara — the ten people who were given the glad tidings of Jannah.

The Diverse Journeys of the Sahaba

The sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een, serve a very important role in the life of a Muslim — not only in their personal stories and their personal endeavors and feats, and their own journey to Islam do we find lessons, which is also something very important. Because no two sahabi are the same, no two companions are the same.

We have from the sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een, those who accepted Islam earlier — some of them from those who were in Dar al-Arqam, from the earliest stages of Islam, before it was even made public. Then we have sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een, who accepted later on — after Badr, after Uhud. Then we have sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een, who accepted even later on, after the Fath of Makkah.

So sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een, each have their own different journeys and stories. Looking at their lives and understanding their lives is something that is important for all of us. Reading the hayat al-sahaba — reading the stories of the sahaba — will bring life, and bring lessons, to our own lives.

The Sahaba as Intermediaries of Prophetic Knowledge

The sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een, play an important role — not only because of their personal biographies, not only because of their personal life and journey, not only because they are sahaba — but they are our intermediaries to the Prophet ﷺ. They are the individuals who received the revelation from Nabi ﷺ. They are the people who lived the life through Nabi ﷺ. They are the people who transmit the hadith of Nabi ﷺ. They are the people who transmit the explanation of the Qur'an as Nabi ﷺ did. Part of his role was, as Allah says:

بِٱلْبَيِّنَٰتِ وَٱلزُّبُرِ ۗ وَأَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ ٱلذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
(Quran 16:44)

"To explain to the people what has been revealed to them." So sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een — they are the ones who inherited that knowledge, the prophetic knowledge of Nabi ﷺ. So their rank in our eyes has to be a rank that is undisputed. There is no room to question, to judge, or to consider that the sahaba were anything other than the sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een.

We learn our deen, our hadith, and our religion through the sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een. The lineage of many great ulama goes through the sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een.

Ibn Mas'ud on Seeking Role Models

We also look at the sahaba as role models. Ibn Mas'ud, radiyallahu anhu — one of the foremost companions of the Prophet ﷺ, who would frequent the house of the Prophet ﷺ, who was known for his ilm — makes a very profound statement:

مَنْ كَانَ مُسْتَنًّا فَلْيَسْتَنَّ بِمَنْ قَدْ مَاتَ، فَإِنَّ الْحَيَّ لَا تُؤْمَنُ عَلَيْهِ الْفِتْنَةُ

"Whoever is seeking someone to take as a role model, then seek out somebody who has passed away. Because those who are alive, they are not necessarily safe from fitna." And then he describes who these people are — they are the companions of the Prophet ﷺ. And Ibn Mas'ud, radiyallahu anhu, further states that these are the people whom Allah chose for the sohbah of Nabi ﷺ.

So when we look at the sahaba, we learn stories. When we look at the sahaba, we learn lessons. When we look at the sahaba, we learn their struggles. When we look at the sahaba, we learn how they were a diverse group of people, but they were united by the kalimah, and they were united by the love of Nabi ﷺ.

Choosing Righteous Companions

My dear respected brothers and elders, mothers and sisters — the sahaba have an undisputed role in our lives, and we have to look at them for our own lives and our own responsibilities. Nabi ﷺ has also told us that our faith and our religion is according to the religion of the people we associate with — according to the religiosity of the people that we consider our friends. So Nabi ﷺ tells us to be careful who we associate with, to be careful who we consider friends, to be careful who we consider to be people close to us.

And what is a ma'iyah? What is a scale? What are some guidelines for good friends? We should look for people who have the love of Allah, the love of Nabi ﷺ, and the love of the sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een. We should look for people who are avidly trying to look at the lives of the sahaba and trying to inculcate their qualities within their own lives.

The sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een, were human like you and I. And there are many sahabi whose life before Islam we see — and how, through Allah's hidayah and through Nabi ﷺ, their life changed entirely.

Nabi ﷺ tells us the sifat of great people — the qualities of people such that when we look at them, when we speak to them, they increase us in our ilm. When we look at them, they remind us of Allah. These are the people that we should try to associate ourselves with.

The Warning of Evil Companions — The Story of Uqbah ibn Abi Mu'ayt

Allah tells us in the Qur'an the description of a person who will remorse and regret over the fact that he took certain people as his friends — that if only he had followed the Prophet ﷺ, if only he had been in his company, if only he had stuck to the right path.

يَٰوَيْلَتَىٰ لَيْتَنِى لَمْ أَتَّخِذْ فُلَانًا خَلِيلًۭا لَّقَدْ أَضَلَّنِى عَنِ ٱلذِّكْرِ بَعْدَ إِذْ جَآءَنِى ۗ وَكَانَ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنُ لِلْإِنسَٰنِ خَذُولًۭا
(Quran 25:28–29)
(Quran 25:28-29)

This ayah is connected to the story of Uqbah ibn Abi Mu'ayt — an individual who would associate with the noble people of Quraysh. He once invited the Prophet ﷺ to his house, and the Prophet ﷺ accepted. The Prophet ﷺ said, "I will eat once you accept la ilaha illallah muhammadur rasulullah." So Uqbah accepted — he said the kalimah.

One of his friends — Ubay ibn Khalaf — when he heard this, was so disappointed and frustrated. He said, "Why would you do such a thing?" Uqbah said that he only did it because he didn't want the Prophet ﷺ to leave without eating — he didn't really mean it. His friend said, "No. I will not maintain my friendship with you until you go and spit on the face of the beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ."

And this wretched soul did exactly that. For the sake of his evil friend, and for the sake of maintaining that friendship, he decided to abandon Islam — and he went and spat on the face of Nabi ﷺ. This person will remorse on the Day of Qiyamah, and he will literally bite his hands in remorse — if only he had taken the prophetic way, if only he had followed the Prophet ﷺ and not his evil friend.

Do Not Make the Journey to Allah More Difficult

My dear respected elders and brothers, mothers and sisters — we live in a time that it is already difficult enough to stay on the right path. It is already difficult enough to do the right thing. Now if we associate ourselves with people who make it harder, who are not in the remembrance of Allah, who do not love the Prophet ﷺ, who do not speak kindly of the sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een — who do not even speak about the sahaba — then we are only making our job more difficult.

Every single one of us wants to and desires to pass away with iman. Every single one of us desires Jannah. Every single one of us desires to meet Allah in good standing. Let us not make this job any more difficult.

We already have the wasawis of Shaytan around us — let us not fill our lives with the wasawis of insan as well. There are many people who will be an impediment to our own journey to Allah, to our increasing in ilm, to our visiting the masajid, to visiting the halaqat adh-dhikr and the halaqat of ilm. Why make the job more difficult? It is a matter of the akhira, it is a matter of eternal salvation.

Let us not fill ourselves with people who will make our job more difficult — and especially not with people who have deviances, especially not with people who do not adhere to proper creed, who do not adhere to proper actions, and who do not have the love of Nabi ﷺ and the love of sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een, in their hearts.

Reviving the Stories of the Sahaba in Our Homes

We look at the sahaba as role models. We try to bring, and we try to revive, their stories — and the stories of the awliya — within our homes. We should be reading about the sahaba. We should be reading about the righteous people of the past. We should be doing ta'aleem of this with our children, with our spouses, and ourselves — increasing our knowledge of the sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een. There are so many of them, so many stars to look at, so many lessons to be learnt.

When we read about them, and we teach ourselves first and foremost — and our spouses, and our children, and our family members — the love of them will come into our hearts. How can we not love the people who sacrificed everything for the Prophet ﷺ? How can we not love the people who stood against their own fathers, their own brothers, their own siblings, for the sake of Nabi ﷺ? How can we not love the people who abandoned their entire wealth for the Prophet ﷺ?

But we have to read about them. When we read about the sahaba, then the love of the sahaba will come into our lives. And when we read about this type of friendship, this type of companionship, this type of love, then we will automatically want to seek people like that for our own friends — for ourselves, for our children, for our spouses. Then the people who only talk about dunya gains, and the people who only talk about petty things — we will naturally find ourselves averse to that. We will naturally find ourselves disinclined to that.

So let us increase in reading about the sahaba. Let us increase in reading about the righteous people. There are so many resources in this beautiful city of Chicago. There are so many books that we know of. Find those places that are talking about the sahaba. Find those places that are talking about the seerah of Nabi ﷺ. And let us take ourselves and our family members there.

Announcements

On that note, insha'Allah ta'ala, next weekend — from Friday evening to Saturday evening — we will have our annual Seerah Conference that takes place every year here as well. This year, insha'Allah ta'ala, the focus is on the Ahlul Bayt — the family of the Prophet ﷺ. Not only talking about the sahaba, but more specifically the family of the Prophet ﷺ and the love of the family of the Prophet ﷺ. How should we love them? How should we understand them? Who is incorporated within Ahlul Bayt? What is the Sunni understanding — the traditional, proper understanding — of the sahaba and Ahlul Bayt?

This is very important — not just from its educational aspect, but also from the love of the sahaba. The more we read about them, the more we get reminded about them, the more our children hear about them, then it will only increase our love for the sahaba, radiyallahu anhum. So bring your families, bring yourselves — insha'Allah, next Friday after Salatul Asr is the Seerah Conference. You can register outside; the flyers are outside. The focus is on the Ahlul Bayt, the family of the Prophet ﷺ.

We ask Allah for tawfeeq, we ask Allah to increase us in ilm, we ask Allah to increase us in 'amal, and we ask Allah to increase us in our love for the sahaba and the righteous awliya. Wa akhiru da'wana, alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen.

Further Announcements

Insha'Allah, please stand up and move forward, and then pray your sunan, so that it will be easier for the people outside to make their way inside, insha'Allah. Please pass the donation boxes from left to right and donate generously.