صحابہ کرام رضی اللہ عنہم کو برا مت کہو

Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Noble Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “Do not speak ill of my Companions. The truth is that if one of you were to spend gold equal to Mount Uhud in the way of Allah, its reward would not equal even the reward of one mudd — a little more than a seer — or of half a mudd given by my Companions.” (Bukhari and Muslim)

A Companion is that Muslim who, while awake, saw the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم with his own eyes, or remained in his company, and whose life ended in the state of faith, that is, upon the religion of Islam.

The noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) are the bearers of revelation; they are the ones who conveyed the Qur’an to us, and who conveyed the words of the Noble Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم to us. If a person denies the truthfulness and honesty of even one of them, how then is it possible for his bond of faith with the Qur’an and Hadith to remain intact? For when their very honesty is doubtful in his eyes, how will confidence in whatever they narrate remain established in his heart? These are those exalted personalities whose truthfulness and excellence the Holy Qur’an itself testifies to. Concerning their rank the Gracious Lord says:

“Without doubt Allah was pleased and well satisfied with those Muslims when they were pledging allegiance to you صلى الله عليه وسلم beneath the tree.” (Al-Fath 18)

In Surah At-Tawbah, verse 100, granting them the warrant of His pleasure, He says:

“And those of the Muhajirin and the Ansar who are foremost (in accepting faith), and those (of the rest of the ummah) who follow them with sincerity — Allah is pleased with them all.”

The Holy Qur’an has borne witness to the truthfulness of these sanctified personalities in these words:

“And (in particular) there is a right for those destitute Emigrants who were separated from their homes and from their wealth; they seek the bounty of Allah (that is, Paradise) and His pleasure, and they help Allah and His Messenger (that is, His religion); and it is they who are the truthful.” (Al-Hashr 8)

The scholars of the Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jama‘ah are agreed upon this: that the most excellent among the noble Companions are the Rightly Guided Caliphs, and among them too the order of the caliphate is taken into account. That is, the most excellent is Hazrat Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, then Hazrat ‘Umar, then Hazrat ‘Uthman, and after them Hazrat ‘Ali. After these four, the most excellent are all those Companions who are called the ‘Asharah Mubashsharah. After them in excellence are those Companions who took part in the Battle of Badr. After them are those Companions who took part in the Battle of Uhud. After them are the Companions who took part in the Pledge of Ridwan; after them are those Ansari Companions who came to Makkah before the migration and pledged allegiance to him صلى الله عليه وسلم. Likewise those Companions who are called the Sabiqun al-Awwalun — that is, those who were foremost in accepting Islam and became Muslims in the very beginning of Islam, and who had the opportunity of praying facing both qiblahs, namely Bayt al-Maqdis and the noble Ka‘bah — are more excellent than those Companions who entered the fold of Islam after them. May Allah be pleased with them all.

The differences that arose among these utterly venerable personalities were above any selfish motive. The scholars of the Ahl as-Sunnah regard them as differences of ijtihad, because those noble men were possessors of ijtihad, and every mujtahid has been promised reward for his effort even if it turns out to be a mistake. These are the beloved servants of Allah, to whom Allah, the Lord of Might, has given the certificate of His pleasure. A person should remain cautious while saying anything at all about them. Concerning them only such words should be uttered as are of praise and goodness. If something is learnt about any one of them which outwardly appears contrary to what is praiseworthy, it should be overlooked. The safety of one’s religion and faith lies in this.