Status of the Companions - Shaykh Hafeezullah Khan

Introduction

Alhamdulillah, we praise Him, ask for His help, ask for His forgiveness, believe in Him and put our trust in Him. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whom Allah guides, there is no misguidance for him, and whom He misguides, there is no guide for him.

I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, no partner for Him. I bear witness that our Master and Protector is Muhammad, His servant and Messenger. As for later, the best hadith is the Book of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.

And the worst of things are its innovations, and every innovation is a creation, and every creation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.

The Importance of the Qur'an and Sunnah

Dear brothers and sisters, as you are aware, the Deen of Islam is based on the Qur'an, the Book of Allah, and the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. And if anyone wants to understand and practice this Deen, then it is not possible without understanding and following the Qur'an and Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. It is because of the importance of these that those who are against Islam try to target them, to create doubts in the minds of the people.

But because Allah has took responsibility of safeguarding these, such people have not succeeded in their evil plans. And therefore, they have targeted the generation through whom we gained the Qur'an and we gained the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. And they are trying to create doubts about that generation, which are the companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

They go even further, especially in this month, the month of Muharram, by making accusations about them and humiliating them. As Imam Abu Zur'a ar-Razi says about them: when you see someone humiliating the companions, the sahaba of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, you have to believe that he is a zindiq. Such people are trying to damage the Qur'an and Sunnah, and because they are not able to do so, they try by humiliating those who conveyed this to us.

So brothers and sisters, it is an obligation upon us to learn about the companions and to teach our children about them and their importance in our deen, so that the reality is always clear in our minds and we are not misled.

The Status of the Companions

Dear brothers and sisters, the companions — the generation of the companions — they are the people who were the most pious of this ummah. Allah selected them for the companionship of His beloved Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and for establishing the deen.

And Allah mentioned in various places of the Qur'an their status. For example, in Surah At-Tawbah, Allah says: Allah is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him.

And Muhammad ﷺ says about them in a hadith from Sahih Bukhari and Muslim:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3673; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2540)

He said: "Do not humiliate or say bad about my companions." And he repeated this twice. And then he said: "By Allah, in whose hands is my soul, if any one of you were to spend gold to the size of the mount of Uhud, it will not be even half a mud compared to what the companions achieved."

Brothers and sisters, these are the group of people for whom the Prophet ﷺ made du'a. He made du'a at the Battle of Badr: "O Allah, if this group was destroyed, then there will remain no one on Your earth to worship You." What does this mean? This means that if this group did not exist, then Islam would not have been spread further. And this is the group which, whenever Allah has mentioned them in the Qur'an, Allah has praised them and gave them tidings of Jannah.

For example, in Surah Ali 'Imran, Allah addressed them:

"You are the best nation produced as a role model for the whole mankind."

And in Surah Al-Baqarah, Allah says:

"And thus We have made you a median, a just community, that you will be witnesses over the people."

And in a hadith from Sahih Muslim, Muhammad ﷺ says:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2531)

"The stars are the protectors of the skies. When they go away, then whatever comes in the sky will come. And I am the protector of my companions. When I leave, then whatever comes upon them will come. And my companions are the protectors of my Ummah. When they leave, whatever comes upon my Ummah will come."

In this hadith, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ told us of the existence of the companions as a sign of protection for this Ummah — as a sign of peace for this Ummah. And the fitnahs which this Ummah will face will come after the companions. And it is evident that after the period of the companions, all the groups of bid'ah and shirk that came, they all started after them.

Our Rights and Obligations Towards the Companions

This is the status of the companions, brothers. Now we need to see what their rights upon us are and on what basis our link with them should be. In this regard, Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal says that our link with the companions will be based on four important points. He says:

"It is Sunnah to love them. Making du'a for them brings us closer to Allah. Following them is a means of getting Jannah. And following their sayings is a means of salvation — salvation from the Hellfire."

First: Love for the Companions is Sunnah — حُبُّهُمْ سُنَّةٌ

The first thing, as Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal said: حُبُّهُمْ سُنَّةٌ — having love for the companions is a Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. Why? Number one, because this was the generation who conveyed the Qur'an and Sunnah — the complete deen — to us. We are Muslims today because of their efforts and their sacrifices. And also because Allah was pleased with them, as Allah says:

No doubt Allah was pleased with the mu'mins, the companions.

Likewise, the Prophet ﷺ mentioned love for the companions as a sign of our iman, and hatred for them as a sign of nifaq — hypocrisy. As in Sahih Bukhari, Muhammad ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 17; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 74)

"Love for the Ansar is a sign of iman, and hatred for the Ansar is a sign of hypocrisy."

Likewise, love for the companions is a sign of love for the Prophet ﷺ. As in Tirmidhi, Muhammad ﷺ said:

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3862)

"Fear Allah with regards to my companions. Don't make them targets of your criticism. Anyone who loves them, he loves me. And anyone who shows hatred towards them, he hates me. And he who harmed them, he has harmed me."

And likewise, he who loves the companions will be with them in Jannah, inshallah. It is narrated by Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) in Sahih Bukhari, that once a person asked Muhammad ﷺ: "When is the Day of Judgment?" The Prophet ﷺ asked him: "What preparation have you made for it?" He said: "I don't have anything, but I love Allah and His Messenger." The Prophet ﷺ replied:

"You will be with those whom you love."

Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "We were so happy with this statement of Muhammad ﷺ that we were not so happy with anything before this." And then he says: "I love Muhammad ﷺ. I love Abu Bakr as-Siddiq. I love Umar bin al-Khattab. And I hope I will be with them because of my love for them — even though my practice is not as good as theirs."

But brothers and sisters, how should our love for them be? In this regard, Imam at-Tahawi says: "We love the companions of the Prophet ﷺ without any exaggeration. And we always remember the companions with good words. Our belief is that loving them is a sign of being upon the deen, and showing hatred towards them is a sign of kufr and hypocrisy."

Second: Du'a for the Companions Brings Us Closer to Allah — الدُّعَاءُ لَهُمْ قُرْبَةٌ

The one who loves them will obviously be the one making du'a for them. As Allah says:

"And those who came after them, they say: 'Our Lord, forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in faith, and put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have believed. Our Lord, You are the most gracious.'"

Another meaning of making du'a for the companions is that we do not have any negative thoughts about them, nor do we criticize them. We do not discuss the issues which they had among themselves at the time and say who is right and who is wrong.

And it is necessary to make clear here that after the Prophet ﷺ, we, Ahlus Sunnah, cannot think about any person that they cannot make any mistake. And whoever claims this will be a liar. Every person, on the basis of being human, will do good and will do bad. The one who does more good deeds, but because he is a human, sometimes commits a sinful act — we still consider him to be among the pious people. On the other hand, a person who always commits sins, but once in a while does a good deed — such a person will be considered among the bad. His occasional good deeds do not place him among the pious people. Likewise, a mistake or sin of a pious person does not remove him from that group of people.

With this, we can understand that the companions were the generation whose goodness is presented as an example throughout the Qur'an and Sunnah. Especially the al-Khulafa ar-Rashidun and the ten whom Allah gave glad tidings of Jannah.

But those people who could not damage Islam even after their many extreme efforts are now trying to damage that generation through whom we have received the Qur'an and Hadith, and because of whom we are Muslims today. And what is amazing is that in this evil doing against the companions, there are some people who call themselves from Ahlus Sunnah, and they as well target some of the companions in relation to the battles that took place between them. What they don't know is that as a result of this, they are making themselves a part of these evil plans. And they are not aware of the Prophet's ﷺ saying that he who loves my companions loves me, and he who hates my companions hates me.

In this regard, we have to note the statement of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah who says that the disputes which the companions had among themselves — we remain silent about that and we say that the narrations that convey this could contain some lies and could have been altered. And if anything was true, then we consider it as being beyond their control. And we believe they were mujtahid. And if they did make any mistake, Allah will still reward them because they have done such deeds through which Allah has promised to forgive all their sins.

Third: Following the Companions is a Means of Jannah — الاقْتِدَاءُ بِهِمْ وَسِيلَةٌ

Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal says: وَالاقْتِدَاءُ بِهِمْ وَسِيلَةٌ — to follow the companions is a right they have upon us. It is a means of getting Jannah and a means for the pleasure of Allah, and success in this world and in the hereafter.

But why should we follow them? Because Allah says in the Qur'an:

"If they believe like you have believed, then they are on the straight path." This means that Allah has made the companions as a criteria for us. If anyone wants to know whether he is on the right path or on the wrong, then he has to compare his aqeedah, his iman, and his practice with that of the companions.

Another hadith — Muhammad ﷺ says: when the days of trials and fitnahs will come and this ummah will be divided into 73 groups, if you want to know which of them are on the straight path — and then Muhammad ﷺ said:

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2641)

"They are those who are on my path and my companions' path."

Dear brothers and sisters, this shows that the iman of the companions was unique. If there was any weakness in their iman, if there was any weakness in their practice, Allah would not have asked the Muslim ummah to make them as a role model for themselves. So it is our obligation that we assess our iman and tally it with that of the companions.

And the second thing is, Allah says in Surah An-Nisa':

"And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger of Allah after the right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows other than the believers' way, We shall keep him in the path he has chosen and burn him in Hell. What an evil destination!"

In this ayah, Allah has clearly stated that going against the Prophet ﷺ is like going against the companions of the Prophet ﷺ. And those who leave the way of the companions are actually the ones who are leaving the methodology of the Prophet ﷺ. And their destination is Hellfire.

And the third thing — in Surah At-Tawbah, Allah says:

"And the foremost to embrace Islam of the Muhajireen and the Ansar and also those who followed them exactly in faith — Allah is well-pleased with them as they are well-pleased with Him."

In this ayah, Allah has mentioned three groups. One of the Muhajireen and the other the Ansar. And the third group is that which follows both these groups — the Ansar and Muhajireen — exactly in faith. So Allah says about all three groups that Allah is well-pleased with them as they are well-pleased with Him.

So, as a true Muslim, we should follow the companions in all our acts of deen — in our worship and in all our affairs. We should have firm belief that they were protectors of the revelation and the deen, and they sacrificed a lot to convey this to us.

الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد الأنبياء والمرسلين وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين

The Companions: Abu Bakr and Umar — Particularly Targeted

So, dear brothers and sisters, these are the companions. If anyone wants to read about them, then read the seerah of the Prophet ﷺ and you will see what the companions did to preserve the deen in the time of the Prophet ﷺ and after him. And especially, we need to study the lives of the Rashidun Caliphs. And among them, especially Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and Umar ibn al-Khattab, because these two companions are targeted the most. We need to know about these two companions and their sacrifices and their efforts for the deen and for forwarding its teachings to us.

Abu Bakr as-Siddiq

We have to remember that Abu Bakr as-Siddiq was, for example, the first man to accept Islam. He never worshipped any idols in his life. And more than 30 main companions took shahada because of him — and most of these companions are those who received the good news of Jannah in this world.

And after the death of the Prophet ﷺ, all the fitnahs that arose — it was Abu Bakr who tackled these fitnahs with his strong iman and trust in Allah. At that time, if it were not for Abu Bakr, the enemies of Islam had made full plans to eliminate Islam. Among them were those who made false claims of prophethood, those who turned away from Islam, and those who wanted Islam to be according to their own desires. And Abu Bakr stood against all these with his strong iman and overcame these fitnahs.

Umar ibn al-Khattab

And what about Umar ibn al-Khattab? He is the person whom the Prophet ﷺ especially asked Allah for. As in a hadith in Tirmidhi, the Prophet ﷺ made du'a:

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3681)

"O Allah, give Islam strength and honor by blessing one of these two with the acceptance of Islam." And he mentioned two names — one of them being Umar ibn al-Khattab.

Umar ibn al-Khattab ruled as a khalifah for 10 years. And in these 10 years, he filled the whole Islamic state with peace and justice. In this period, Allah gave success and victory to Islam in the east and in the west of the whole world. The two big superpowers at that time — Rome and Persia — came under the state of Islam in this period.

This is Umar ibn al-Khattab, about whom the Prophet ﷺ said, referring to his strong iman:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3683)

"I swear by Allah, in whose hands is my soul, that the Shaitan turns away from the path on which Umar walks." This means that Muhammad ﷺ said the Shaitan has no control over Umar.

And Umar is the person who has many favors upon this Ummah. One favor is that after the death of the Prophet ﷺ, when the companions discussed the issue of Khilafah, this discussion got heated and things could have turned really bad. But Umar stood in the full gathering and held Abu Bakr's hand and did bay'ah on his hand, and all the companions did the same. If Umar did not come forward at this sensitive time, a great fitna could have arisen.

Another of his favors is the Qur'an that we have today in its sacred and secure form — this is with his efforts. When in the time of Abu Bakr, many of the huffaz were martyred in battle, it was Umar who convinced Abu Bakr that we need to secure the Qur'an in the form of a book. And now, MashaAllah, we have the Qur'an in our hands, secured.

So, brothers and sisters, these are the efforts of the Khulafa ar-Rashidun — especially the efforts of Umar ibn al-Khattab and Abu Bakr as-Siddiq.