People often feel uneasy about what they read concerning the behavior of the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) after his life on earth came to its end. Reports are mentioned in history books which attribute to one or the other of his companions’ attitudes or statements that do not fit with the bright picture people have of this group of believers whom God has praised in the Qur’an. It is a case of painting a beautiful picture, then trying to match the scene to the picture, without looking at the reality. Yet understanding the situation that prevailed at the time is a much better method to understand the actions and behavior of the Prophet’s noble companions. It also gives us a good idea of how to deal with difficult situations that we may encounter without compromising our beliefs and ideals.
There is no doubt that the Prophet’s companions faced highly testing situations over the thirty years that followed the Prophet’s departure from this life, particularly over the ten or twelve years beginning with the last third of the Uthman’s rule (31-41 H). These years witnessed rebellion, division and even military conflict between groups of Muslims, with some of the Prophet’s companions joining one group or another, and taking opposed stands. None of them sought or condoned such division; none liked it. Everyone of them would have preferred to die rather than fight against fellow Muslims. But how can we be sure when the historical facts of their standing in opposition to one another and fighting battles stir us in the eye?
We have numerous clear statements in the Qur’an and the Sunnah, making clear that the Prophet’s companions were all good believers and God was well satisfied with them. The Prophet says: “The best of my followers are my generation, then the generation that follows them, then the following one.” Thus he makes it clear that those three generations stand out as a model for those who follow them. Moreover, God says in the Qur’an: “As for the first to lead the way, of the Muhajirin and the Ansar, as well as those who follow them in (the way of) righteousness, God is well-pleased with them, and well-pleased are they with Him.” (9: 100) No one could attain to a better or higher standard than that of earning God’s pleasure. Here God states that He is well-pleased with the Prophet’s companions, the Muhajirin and the Ansar.
No one may argue that this verse was revealed to the Prophet during his lifetime, and the events to which we have referred took place long after that. Could this be a case of later actions marring earlier good ones? Such an argument does not apply to a statement by God, or to His knowledge which is perfect and absolute. Indeed, God’s knowledge is never dependent on events. It does not change as a result of what takes place, because He knows whatever will happen anywhere in the universe before even the start of time. In fact, the time factor does not apply to God or His knowledge. This means that He was aware of what everyone of the Prophet’s companions would do in his life even before that person was a foetus in the womb. Therefore, when God records His pleasure with the Prophet’s companions in the Qur’an, knowing that Muslims will be reading this statement in their prayers for the rest of human life, the statement takes into account what those companions of the Prophet did up to the time when this verse was revealed and in the rest of their lives.
The Prophet mentioned that his companions would differ in their views. This is only normal in any community where freedom of thought is respected. Such freedom is an essential quality of Islamic society. Hence, the Prophet was keen to explain the high position his companions achieved, which earned them respect by all subsequent Muslim generations. The Prophet says: “Do not abuse my companions. By Him who holds my soul in His hand, had any of you spent in charity the weight of Mount Uhud in gold, he would not attain the standard of any one of them, or even half that.” The Prophet also warned against those who would abuse his companions, telling us that we must have no relations with such people, either in social or religious matters. Thus, he tells us that we must not establish a marital bond with them, nor pray with, or for, them.
Numerous are the Hadiths and reports that confirm the Prophet’s companions high standards of purity, honesty and integrity. These confirm what is stated in the Qur’an. Therefore, no one of them needs any certification of his integrity by any human being when God Himself has confirmed His pleasure with them all. Abu Bakr ibn Al-Khatib, who was a fine scholar in his own right, says: “Had there been no mention of them and their integrity in the Qur’an and the Hadith, the way they conducted themselves in the service of Islam would have confirmed that. They were foremost in serving the Islamic cause, immigrating for no other reason, supporting the Prophet in every respect, exerting every effort in jihad. They were always ready to lay down their lives, split permanently from parents and children if the latter stood against Islam. They always gave good counsel and were very strong in their faith. All these qualities confirm the Prophet’s companions’ high standards of dedication to Islam and their exemplary integrity. They certainly provide the example to be followed by all subsequent generations of believers.”
Abu Zur’ah, Ubaydullah ibn Abd Al-Karim Al-Razi, a great scholar highly praised by Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, says: “If you hear anyone deprecating any of the Prophet’s companions, then know that that person is an unbeliever. In our belief, the Prophet is truly God’s Messenger, and the Qur’an is the true word of God. It was the Prophet’s companions that have conveyed to us this Qur’an and the Prophet’s Sunnah. Therefore, those who speak ill of the Prophet’s companions actually aim to disqualify our witnesses to the truth of the Qur’an and the Sunnah, in order to demolish their reliability. It is they who are certainly unreliable, and truly unbelievers.”
With such high standards of reliability and integrity enjoyed by the Prophet’s companions, the question remains: how can we evaluate the reports that speak of attitudes and statements adopted or said by some of the Prophet’s companions that are in stark contradiction with that? The task has been undertaken by scholars of the highest caliber. One of these was Abu Bakr ibn Al-Arabi of the Andalus (d. 543 H 1149 CE). His book, Al-Awasim Min Al-Qawasim, attained special merit in defending the Prophet’s companions. However, the book is very concise and more suited to a readership that was familiar with the reports the author examines and discredits. Therefore, the book was edited and annotated by a twentieth-century scholar, Muhibb Al-Din Al-Khateeb. The annotation comes in the forms of extensive footnotes that may occasionally be rather lengthy. We will begin next week serializing the information both scholars have written, but we will incorporate them both in the form of articles that suit newspaper readership. Where feasible, we will attribute to each scholar what he has written, but we may summarize or delete repetition where necessary. We hope readers will appreciate this contribution to examining the history of a period full of events of far-reaching importance.
Arab News Islam 26 May 2003