Islamic Creed — The Prophet, His Household, and His Companions
Section 5: The Nobility of the Companions, What Must Be Believed About Them, and the Position of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah Regarding What Occurred Between Them
English translation of the Arabic original. The Arabic text remains authoritative.
- What is meant by the companions and what must obligatorily be believed about them A companion is anyone who met the Prophet, believed in him and died upon that belief. It is obligatory to believe that they are the noblest of this Ummah (followers of Muhammad) and the best generation, for their precedence in Islam, the peculiarity of being companions of the Prophet going forth in Jihad with him, conveying the Shari’ah from him and informing those succeeding them about it. Allah has praised them in His Book, He said: “And the first to embrace Islam of the Muhajiriin (those who migrated from Makkah to Al-Madinah) and the Ansar (the citizens of Al-Madinah who helped and gave aid to the Muhajiriin) and also those who followed them exactly (in Faith), Allah is well-pleased with them as they are well-pleased with Him. He has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise), to dwell therein forever. That is the supreme success. ” (Qur’an 9:100) He - the Most High - also said: ““Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are severe against disbelievers, and merciful amongst 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 (forehead) from the traces of (their) prostration (during prayer). This is their description in the Taurah (Torah). But their description in the Injil (Gospel) is like a (sown) seed which sends forth its shoot, then makes it strong, it then becomes thick, and it stand straight on its stem, delighting the sowers - that He may enrage the disbelievers with them. Allah has promised those among them who believe [i.e. all those who follow Islamic Monotheism, the religion of Prophet Muhammad Us till the Day of Resurrection] and do righteous good deeds, forgiveness and a mighty reward (i.e. Paradise).” (Qur’an 48: He - the Most High - also said: “(And there is also a share in this booty) for the poor emigrants, who were expelled from their homes and their property, seeking Bounties from Allah and to please Him. And helping Allah (i.e. helping his Religion) and His Messenger [Muhammad Hi]- Such are indeed the truthful (to what they say); And those who, before them, had homes (in Al-Madinah) and had adopted Faith, - love those who emigrate to them, and have no jealousy in their breasts for that which they have been given (from the booty of Bani An-Nadir), and give them (emigrants) preference over themselves, even though they were in need of that And whosoever is saved from his own covetousness, such are they who will be the successful.” (Qur’an 59: In these verses, Allah, the Glorified, praised the Muhajirun (emigrants) and the Ansar (Helpers) and described them with being foremost in good deeds. He also informed that He is pleased with them and has prepared Gardens (Paradise) for them. He described them as being merciful amongst themselves and severe against the disbelievers. He also described them with frequent bowing and prostration, goodness of hearts and that they are recognized with the sign of obedience and Faith. He also informed that He specially selected them in order to enrage His enemies, the disbelievers. He also described the Muhajirun (emigrants) with having left their cities and wealth for the sake of Allah, assisting His Religion and seeking His Bounty and Pleasure; He also informed that they are truthful thereupon. He similarly described the Ansar (helpers) as being the citizens of the destination of the Hijrah [Emigration of the Prophet M] helpers, and possessors of true Faith. He described them with love for their brothers, the Muhajirun, preferring them to themselves, exhibiting beneficence towards them and the freedom from greed; by these they attained success. These are their collective virtues, there are also specific virtues and station with which they surpass one another by virtue of their precedence in Islam, Jihad and Hijrah, and may Allah be pleased with them all. The noblest of the companions are the Four Caliphs: Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman and ' Ali. Then the rest of the ten given the glad tidings of Paradise [by the Prophet 3£], they are; the above four and Talhah, az-Zubair, Abdur Rahman bin ‘Awf, Abu'Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah, Sa‘d bin AbT Waqqas and ‘eed bin Zaid. Also the Muhajirun are superior to the Ansar, those who witnessed the battle of Badr and those who witnessed the Pledge of Ridwan. Those who accepted Islam before the conquest of Makkah and fought in Allah’s way are superior to those who accepted Islam thereafter.
- The position of Ahl-us-Sunnah wal Jama'ah regarding the battle and Fitnah (tribulation) which occurred between them The cause of the tribulation: The Jews conspired against Islam and its followers; they planted an evil deceiver who falsely manifested Islam amongst the Muslims. He was 'Abdullah bin Saba, one of the Jews of Yemen. This Jew began to fan the embers of his hatred and venom against the third Caliph, 'Uthman bin ‘Affan He fabricated all sorts of allegations against the Caliph, and those easily fooled amongst shallow thinking people, those of weak Faith and the lovers of chaos, gathered around him. Their conspiracy eventually led to the illegitimate killing of the third Rightly Guided Caliph, 'Uthman 4®. On the heels of his murder, the Muslims became divided and Fitnah (chaos) broke out due to the incitement of this Jew and his followers. So, a battle occurred between the Companions, as a result of their Ijtihad (Juristic exertion). The author of Sharh at-Tahawiyyah said: ‘The rebellion was originated by a heretic hypocrite, whose goal was to destroy the religion of Islam and blemish the character of the Messenger Ht as the scholars have mentioned. When Abdullah Saba ’ openly declared his Islam, his intention was to destroy the religion of Islam with his schemes and evil just as Paul had done to the religion of Christianity. So, he manifested devotion, and then pretended to be commanding good and forbidding evil, till he led to the Fitnah o f 'Uthman and his killing. Then, when he had gained control over Kufah, he manifested extremism (extreme lovej for'Ali and assistance to him, in order that he might be able to accomplish his objective. When Ali got informed of this, he sought after him in order to kill him but he fled and his story is well known in history.’ Shaykh al-lslam Ibn Taymiyyah <; said: ‘When 'Uthman had been killed, peoples ’ hearts became disunited, anxiety became severe, evil persons became significant and pious ones became insignificant, those who were incapable of withstanding tribulation went ahead to bell it, and those who desired good and wanted to make amend became incapacitated therein. So, they pledged allegiance to the Leader of the Believers, 'Ali bin Abi Talib 4, and he was the most rightful person to the Caliphate and the best of those alive at the time. However, peoples ’ hearts were disunited and the flames of Fitnah (crisis) were ablaze, thus there was no consensus, the body o f Muslims was unorganized and the Caliph along with other pious people were unable to achieve all the good they desired. Some people become involved in sectarianism and Fitnah (crisis) and that which occurred took place.'2 He also said explaining the excuse (from blame) of those who fought in the battle between 'Ali and Mu‘awiyyah: ‘awiyyah never laid claim to the Caliphate, nor was he given the oath of allegiance thereupon, nor did he figHtili claiming to be the Caliph or being rightful to it. Mu 'awiyyah used to admit this to whoever asked him. ‘awiyyah and his companions did not intend to start a fight with 'Ali. However, when 'Ali 4= and his companions saw that it was obligatory upon them (Mu'awiyyah and his companions) to pledge allegiance to and obey him, since the Muslims cannot have but one Caliph (at an instant), and they were making this impossible, and they saw that they possessed great strength, he decided to fight them till they fulfill this obligation and thus achieve their obedience and unity. Mu ‘awiyyah and his companions were saying that this was not (yet) obligatory upon them and if they were fought thereupon they would have been wronged. Their excuse was that 'Uthman was killed unjustly according to the consensus of the Muslims and his murderers were (currently) amongst the soldiers of Ali and they dominated authority therein. If we raise objections they would tyrannise us and transgress over us, 'Ali would be unable to protect us just as he was unable to protect 'Uthman and that we are only obligated to pledge allegiance to a Caliph who is capable of being fair to us, and reciprocate fairness to us.' 24 M ajmu' al-Fatawa, v. 25, no. 304 - 305 [s The position of Ahl-us-Sunnah wal Jama ah regarding this disagreement, which occurred (between them), and the Fitnah that led to the battles between the companions can be summarized to two issues: (i) They refrain from discussing that which transpired between them and avoid investigating it because the way of Islam regarding such things is silence, and they say: “...O u r 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 indeed full of kindness, Most (ii) Responding to the narrations, which have been reported about their errors. They do this from several perspectives: a. Some of these narrations are false; these were fabricated by the enemies of the Companions in order to defame their reputation. b. There are others amongst these narrations, which have been edited: added to and detracted from, and twisted from the true perspective. So, falsehood came into them and they have been distorted and do not deserve attention. c. As for those, which are authentic from the narrations (and these are very few), they are excused thereupon. This is because they were people who made Ijtihad (Juristic exertion) and were either right or were wrong. These issues were issues subject to Ijtihad and whoever is right therein gets two rewards and whoever is wrong therein gets a reward and his error is forgiven according to the hadith wherein the Messenger of Allah is, said: ‘When a judge makes ljtihad (juristic exertion) and is right, he gets two rewards, but if he makes ljtihad and is wrong, he gets a single reward.'25 d. They are humans and thus, it is possible for them to fall into error individually. They are not individually infallible with regards to sins, however whatever occurs from them has several atonements. Some include: • That he could have repented therefrom. Repentance obliterates sin no matter how grave they are as reported in the Qur’an and Sunnah. • They have antecedents and virtues, which necessitate the forgiveness of that which emanates from them if it does. Allah - the Most High - said: "... Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds (i.e. small deeds)... ” • They also have the virtue of companionship of and Jihad along with the Messenger of Allah SS, which necessitates the obscuring of individual • Their reward is multiplied many manifolds above those of others, no one is equal to them in respect of virtue. It is established from the Messenger of Allah that they are the best generation and that a Muddlb (of grains), which they give in charity, is better than the entire mount Uhud of gold that anyone other than them gives in charity. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. said: ‘All the Ahl as-Sunnah wal Jama'ah and the leading scholars amongst the Muslims do not believe in the infallibility of anyone amongst the companions, or the relatives (of the Prophet) or the foremost to accept Faith or anyone else. Rather, they believe in the possibility of sins occurring from them, and Allah - the Most High, forgives them as a 25 The hadith of Amru bin al-‘As in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim 26 A measure roughly the size of the combined palms’ full of an average sized adult male.(TN) result of their repentance and raises their station. He also forgives them as a result o f good deeds, which obliterate evil deeds or for other factors (of forgiveness). Allah - the Most High - said: “/4«rf he [Muhammad Is/ who has brought the truth (this Qur’an and Islamic Monotheism) and (those who) believed therein (i.e. the true believers of Islamic Monotheism), those are Al-Muttaqun (the pious and righteous persons). They shall have all that they will desire with their Lord. That is the reward of the Muhsinun (good-doers). So that Allah may remit from them the evil of what they did and give them the reward, according to the best of what they used to He - the Most High - also said: ‘My Lord Grant me the power and ability that I may be grateful for Your Favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and that I may do righteous good deeds, such as please You, and make my offspring good. Truly, I have turned to You in repentance, and truly, I am one of the Muslims (submitting to Your will). They are those from whom We shall accept the best of their deeds and overlook their evil deeds. (They shall be) among the dwellers of Paradise... ” (Qur’an 46:15-16)21 The enemies of Allah have seized the opportunity of the Fitnah (crisis) and disagreement, which occurred between the Companions as a means of disparaging them and detracting their nobility. Some present-day authors have followed this evil path, discussing that which they are not knowledgeable about. They made themselves judges between the companions of the Messenger of Allah Ht, judging some as right and some as wrong, without any evidence; rather, out of ignorance, following their desires, and a parroting of the statements of the biased and resentful orientalists and their stooges. Till they were able to cast doubts into the hearts of some up-coming Muslims, who have a shallow education about the glorious history of their Ummah and their pious predecessors who are the best generation ever to exist on earth. This was in order to be able thereby to blemish Islam, disunite the Muslims and place in the hearts of the later generations of this Ummah, hatred against its earliest generation, in place of their emulation of the pious predecessors and acting by the statement of Allah - the Most High: “And those who came after them 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 indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful.” (Qur’an 59:10) 27 See M ajmu ' al-Fatawa, v. 35, pg. 69
- Source pages
- 9
- Source work
- Aqidat al-Tawhid? Shaykh Salih ibn Fawzan ibn Abdullah al-Fawzan
- Source
- Aqidat al-Tawhid — Arabic book supplied to the site
- Arabic original
- Read the Arabic section
English text aligned with the corresponding Arabic sections extracted from the user-provided Word source. The Arabic original remains authoritative.