The companions of the Holy Prophet of God are spread all over the firmament of Islam like the brilliant stars on the sky. They were the persons who readily responded to the call of Prophet Mohammad peace be upon him when he came out with the message of the Oneness of God. They did not embrace Islam with any selfish motive or securing anything . It is not difficult to understand from a study of the circumstances prevailing at the advent of Islam that it was a very critical period for the Muslims.
To embrace Islam in those days meant to invite trouble and misery of oneself. Despite this, those scared souls, the companions of the prophets, known as Sahaba, accepted Islam without any fear of trouble and atrocities. No one could succeed in attaining such sublime state in Faith and Knowledge as these few fortunate ones. By enduring all sorts of humiliation and unbearable atrocities in the way and love for the Devine Message and devotion to Righteous path, they sent examples which will serve as a beacon light for the seekers of Truth and Righteousness.
They served and save the faith with their deeds and practices characters and conduct. Besides the slaves the other converts to Islam who belonged to various respectable tribes of Arabia, enjoy no better status than slaves, after accepting Islam. A that time, the larger number of Muslim converts were poor, helpless and weak, even powerless to defend themselves from the atrocious assaults of persecutors.
It is a sign of true faith that when a man accept it, believing to be righteous, he holds to it with rock-like firmness, under all forms of calamity, hardship and trial, and so did the Companion of the Prophet peace be upon him. They endured all kinds of hardship and put little values of their own lives in defense of their belief. They embrace Islam in perfect sincerity and with true heart, so they endured all the hardships and afflictions for the sake of God and His Massager with poise, dignity and smiling faces.
They listened to what the Prophet said. They acted as they instructed. They practiced what he showed to them. No Prophet or Messenger had ever been able to get such devoted, faithful, loyal and sincere companions as those Last Messenger of God, Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. They expressed their deep devotion and love for him. They could not bear either in a war or peace, the slightest discomfort of their Master. Neither adversity nor danger could separate them from him.
It is the fact that every Companion of the Prophet was in his place in sign of God. We are to follow their footprints if we want to succeed in our lives. There is no lota of doubt of this matter that, after the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet, the lives and examples of the Sahaba are burning torches of light for us. We cannot do without this light. May God grant us the guidance and strength to follow the footsteps of those Sacred Souls.
The Sahaba - Companions of the Prophet (PBUH).
The Companions are all those who met the Prophet (PBUH) and died as Muslims. Scholars have said that they were 114,000 in number (as stated by Abu Zur'ah, the teacher of Imam Muslim, and recorded by As-Suyootee).
Allah has praised in many Qur'anic verses:
"You are the best of peoples ever raised for mankind, you enjoin good and forbid evil, and you believe in Allah." (3:110)
"Indeed, Allah was pleased with the believers when they gave their pledge to you (O Muhammad) under the tree. He knew what was in their hearts and He sent down calmness and tranquility upon them..." (48:18)
Our Attitude Towards Them
Our attitude towards the Sahaba should be that of love, respect, peace and purity of our hearts and tongues. Allah has described this in His saying: "And those who come 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.” (59:10)
The Prophet (PBUH) advised us: "When my Companions are mentioned then withhold" [Saheeh, at-Tabaranee]. And he also said, "Do not abuse my Companions, for if any of you were to spend gold equal to (mountain of) Uhud in charity, it would not equal a handful of one of them or even half of that" (Al Bukhari, Muslim).
And he said, "Whoever abuses my Companions, upon them is the curse of Allah, the angels and all the people" (Saheeh, At-Tabaranee).
Al-Barbaharee said, "Know that anyone who tries to attack the Companions of Muhammad (PBUH) really seeks to attack Muhammad (PBUH)."
The Best of the Companions
We should note that the best of the Ummah, after the Prophet (PBUH) were Imam Abu Bakr, then Imam Umar, then Imam Uthman, then Imam Ali. As far as the Caliphate is concerned, Ibn Taymeeyah has said that anyone who "objects against anyone of these regarding this order of caliphate, he will be regarded more misguided than the domestic donkey."
The Companions' Noble Deeds
The deeds and virtues of the Sahaba, may Allah be pleased with them all, should be what every Muslim should strive to emulate to the best of one's ability. Their behaviour and sincerity were praised by Allah and His Messenger (PBUH) and that suffices as proof.
The Sahaba were undoubtedly the best in terms of understanding the religious obligations, the Sunnah of the Prophet and the way of establishing the Islamic teachings. Their belief is an example for us, as Allah says in the Al Qur'an: "So if they believe in the like of that which you believe, they are rightly guided, but if they turn away, then they are only in opposition. So Allah will suffice you against them. And He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower." (2:137)
The Best of People
The Prophet (PBUH) said: "The best of my people are my generation then those who come after them, then those who come after them, then there will come a people in whom there will be no good." (At-Tabaranee, authenticated by al-Albanee).
Also, in Al Bukhari, "The best of the people are my generation, then those after them, then those after them..." This is also reported by Muslim, Abu Dawood, at-Tirmidhee, An-Nasa'ee and others.
Following Their Footsteps
All this should suffice as evidence that the correct understanding of Islam is that of the Sahaba and all those that follow their path, in truth. They are the best generation of Islam and they understood Al Qur'an and Sunnah the best.
We should approach the Deen in the manner they approached it. We are obliged to follow them, and that means, first and foremost, to have the same creed as they did, no deviations, no additions and no deletions. We also have to approach `ibadah in the same way, no innovations, no additions and no deletions. We take all of the Sunnah and refer all disagreements to Allah and His Messenger, as Allah (s.w.t.) commanded us in the Al Qur'an (4:59).
We ask Allah to enable us to learn about the lives of the Sahaba and to make our lives resemble theirs. As Ibn Taymeeyah said, "Whoever will read their biographies with understanding and insight will come to know the rewards bestowed by Allah upon them and he will certainly realize that these are the best among humans after the Prophets. Neither has there been anyone like them nor will there be.
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