The Sahaba

The Sahaba's were not an ordinary group of people; they were an extraordinary group of people. Individual as well as collective stories can be found of perseverance, hardship, sacrifice, steadfastness, unwavering iman, taqwa and tawakkul all rolled up in one when we look at what the Sahaba's went through with the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم during the early days of the dawah in Makkah to the latter days of the Prophet's صلى الله عليه وسلم life when Islam was established in Madina and the subsequent expansion of the Islamic State through the whole of the Arabian peninsula. This is the context to the following hadiths and ayats:

'The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: 'The best of my nation is my generation then those who follow them and then those who follow them.' Sahih Bukhari

In Sura At-Tawba verse 100, Allah سبحانه وتعالى says,

وَالسَّابِقُونَ الْأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالْأَنْصَارِ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي تَحْتَهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ

'And the first forerunners [in the faith] among the Muhajireen and the Ansar and those who followed them with good conduct – Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him, and He has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great attainment.'

The hadith shows us the status to which the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم viewed the companions and the ayat from the noble Qur'an reaffirms the unique position of the Sahaba's in the sight of Allah سبحانه وتعالى. Furthermore, there were 10 specific Sahaba's who are referred to as 'Al-'Ashara al-Mubasharin' – those that were granted Jannah while on the Dunya. This status was bestowed upon them as a result of their dedication and sacrifices for the sake of Islam.

Abdul Rahman bin 'Awf narrates that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: 'Abu Bakr is in paradise, Omar is in paradise, Uthman is in paradise, Ali is in paradise, Talha is in Paradise, Az- Zubair is in paradise, Abdul Rahman bin 'Awf is in paradise, Saad is in paradise, Saeed is in paradise and Abu Ubaida bin al- Jarrah is in Paradise.' Tirmidhi

The Sahaba's were so magnificent, in particular the 'Al-'Ashara al-Mubasharin', that children of future Muslim generations were and still are named after them. It is not uncommon to come across names being bestowed upon children who are named after the Sahabas, in the hope that one day the child will grow up to be like the Sahabi whom they have taken their name after.

There is however one crucial element which is missed when we look at the Sahaba's and that is, the Sahaba's were companions to Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم but what were they companions in? In other words what was the relationship between Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and the Sahaba's?

The merits of the Sahaba's stand for themselves and do not need any elucidations. However what made them magnificent is their companionship to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, so the question that begs to be answered is what were the Sahaba's companions in to Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم?

We state in our shahadah, 'la ilaha illallah muhammadur rasulullah' which translates into 'there is no God except Allah and Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم is His Messenger', so from the shahadah it is clear that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is a Messenger of Allah سبحانه وتعالى. Allah سبحانه وتعالى then goes onto describe Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم in his role as a messenger throughout the Qur'an.