Companions of the Prophet

The most widespread definition of a companion is someone who met Muhammad, believed in him, and died a Muslim. The Sunni scholar ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (d.852 H) said,

The most correct of what I have come across is that a Sahâbî (Companion) is one who met the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ whilst believing in him, and died as a Muslim. So, that includes the one who remained with him for a long or a short time, and those who narrated from him and those who did not, and those who saw him but did not sit with him and those who could not see him due to blindness.[4]

Anyone who died after rejecting Islam and becoming an apostate is not considered as a companion. Those who saw him but held off believing in him until after his passing are not considered ṣahābah but tābiʻūn.

According to Sunni scholars, Muslims of the past should be considered companions if they had any contact with Muhammad, and they were not liars or opposed to him and his teachings. If they saw him, heard him, or were in his presence even briefly, they are companions. All companions are assumed to be just (ʻudul) unless they are proven otherwise; that is, Sunni scholars do not believe that companions would lie or fabricate hadith unless they are proven liars, untrustworthy or opposed to Islam.[5]

Some Quranic references are important to Sunni Muslim views of the reverence due to all companions;[6][7][8][9][10][11][lower-alpha 6][lower-alpha 7][lower-alpha 8][lower-alpha 9] It sometimes admonishes them, as when Aisha, daughter of the first Sunni caliph Abu Bakr and the wife of Muhammad, was accused of infidelity. [lower-alpha 10][lower-alpha 11]

Differing views on the definition of a companion were also influenced by the debate between the Traditionalists and the Muʿtazila with the traditionalists preferring to extend the definition to as many people as possible and the Mu'tazilites preferring to restrict it.[12]

The Shia[13][14] as well as some Sunni scholars like Javed Ahmad Ghamidi and Amin Ahsan Islahi state that not every individual who met or had accidentally seen Muhammad can be considered a companion. In their view, the Qurʻan has outlined a high level of faith as one of the distinctive qualities of the ṣaḥābah. Hence, they admit to this list only those individuals who had substantial contact with Muhammad, lived with him, and took part in his campaigns and efforts at proselytizing.[15] In other words, companion is used to refer to sahaba of the prophet who were in a long-term relationship with him and support him in an essential event up to their death.[14]

In view of such admonitions, the Shia have different views on each ṣaḥābiyy, depending on what they accomplished. They do not accept that the testimony of nearly all ṣaḥābah is an authenticated part of the chain of narrators in a hadith and that not all the ṣaḥābah were righteous just because they saw or were with Muhammad. The Shia further argue that the righteousness of ṣaḥābah can be assessed by their loyalty towards Muhammad's family after his death and they accept hadith from the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt, believing them to be cleansed from sin through their interpretation of the Qurʻan[lower-alpha 12] and the hadith of the Cloak.

Shia Muslims believe that some of the companions are accountable for the loss of the caliphate by Ali's family.[1]

As verses 30-33 from Al-Aḥzāb, Shias believe their argument that one must discriminate between the virtues of the companions by verses relating to Muhammad's wives.[lower-alpha 13]

The Baháʼí Faith recognises the companions of Muhammad. They are mentioned in the Kitáb-i-Íqán, the primary theological work of the Baháʼí religion.[16]

According to the History of the Prophets and Kings, after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Abu Bakr, Umar and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah and the Anṣār of Medina held consultations and selected Abu Bakr as the first caliph. Then Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf and Uthman, companion and son-in-law of Muhammad and also essential chief of the Banu Umayyah, selected Umar as the second caliph after the death of Abū Bakr and the other Anṣar and Muhajirun accepted him.[17][18]

Sunni Muslim scholars classified companions into many categories, based on a number of criteria. The hadith quoted above[lower-alpha 14][lower-alpha 15] shows ranks of ṣaḥābah, tābi'īn, and tābi' at-tābi'īn. Al-Suyuti recognized eleven levels of companionship.

The general involvement in military campaign with Muhammad by Sahabah were highlighted by Third generation scholar named Ibn al-Mubarak, that once asked about who is better between Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan and Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, who were famous for his piety. Ibn Mubarrak simply responded: "...dust particles in Muawiyah Nose (while fighting in Hunayn under Muhammad) were better than six hundred Umar (ibn Abd al Aziz)...."[19]

Following the consultation of companions about the successor of Muhammad, Shi'i scholars, therefore, deprecate hadith believed to have been transmitted from alleged unjust companions and place much more reliance on hadith believed to have been related by Muhammad's family members and companions who supported Ali. The Shia claim that Muhammad announced his successor during his lifetime at Dawat Zul Asheera[20] then many times during his prophethood and finally at the event of Ghadir Khumm.[21]

Shias consider that any hadith where Muhammad is claimed to have absolved all ṣaḥābah from sin is a false report by those who opposed the Ahl al-Bayt.[22]