Dealing with the Disputes Among the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ

When Imam Ahmad (RH) was asked about the tribulations among the Companions (RA),

he did nothing more than recite this verse.

“That was a nation which has passed on. It will have [the consequence of] what it earned, and you will have what you have earned. And you will not be asked about what they used to do.” (Quran 2:134)

Because Imam Ahmad wants to teach us that this is a door that has been closed,

It must remain closed and may not be opened.

Therefore, I swear by Allah, without breaking my oath, that no one has opened this door without their hearts becoming darkened.

O seeker of goodness, seeking his Lord, to attain from Him the ultimate of aspirations.

O seeker of goodness, seeking his Lord, to attain from Him the ultimate of aspirations.

Look at the era of the Companions (RA) and what they were upon in times gone by.

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

“In the name of Allāh, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.”

“[All] praise is [due] to Allāh, Lord of the worlds -” (Quran 1:1-2)

May Allah's peace, blessings, and prayers be upon His Messenger.

Welcome, my brothers and sisters, to a new episode

of this series, which I ask Allah ﷻ to make beneficial and useful.

It is about the first generation, meaning the companions of the Prophet ﷺ.

As you know, I have tried to

deviate from what people are accustomed to,

which is just focusing on the biographies of the companions,

and things of that nature. Rather, I aimed

to mention rules by which a Muslim adheres

when looking at the companions of the Prophet ﷺ.

I believe the previous episodes are sufficient, by Allah's ﷻ permission,

to provide information

that is very important for every Muslim man and woman

on how to deal with the companions of the Prophet ﷺ.

My topic today is a highly important topic,

concerning the dispute and conflict that occurred between the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ.

What is our stance as Muslims? What is the stance of the scholars regarding what happened?

This is my talk and my topic for today. My brothers and sisters,

The imams of Islam and the leaders of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah, past and present, have agreed upon a great principle of belief,

and a firm foundation of religion, which is honoring the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and praising them,

and refraining from what occurred between them, and abstaining from mentioning their slips and mistakes.

And perhaps you remember that I dedicated a whole episode to this.

Well, why? To preserve the religion.

To preserve the religion, because they are the transmitters of the Book and the Sunnah,

to safeguard the hearts, because we have been commanded to...

love the companions of the Prophet ﷺ,

and draw closer to Allah ﷻ by loving them,

and to ensure no resentment enters our hearts towards the companions of the Prophet ﷺ.

And for this reason, He ﷻ said: "And those who came...

“And [there is a share for] those who come after them, saying, "Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith and put not in our hearts [any] resentment toward those who have believed. Our Lord, indeed You are Kind and Merciful."” (Quran 59:10)

Thus, the Muslim complies with the Quran and Sunnah.

and follows the methodology of the righteous Salaf in the matter of belief

in the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ.

My brothers and sisters, the soundness of hearts towards the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ

is a matter of the fundamentals of faith,

and this is a hallmark of Ahl al-Sunnah, distinguishing them from others,

and a true proof of following the Prophet ﷺ.

For they are the ones who believed when people disbelieved,

and supported him when people abandoned him,

and they sacrificed their lives and wealth,

until the religion was established and Tawhid and the Sunnah spread across the horizons,

at their hands, may Allah ﷻ be pleased with them all.

Therefore, Imam Ahmad (RH) says:

“Among the clear proofs is mentioning the virtues of all the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ,”

“and refraining from mentioning their shortcomings,”

So whoever insults them or disparages them is an evil innovator.

This concludes the words of Imam Ahmad.

Speaking about the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is not like speaking about others.

When we speak about the companions of the Prophet ﷺ, it is in no way permissible

to harbor feelings as if we are speaking about others in terms of criticism,

disparagement, or the like.

Speaking about the companions is different because they are the link between us and revelation.

So whoever slanders them has slandered the Quran,

and whoever disparages them has disparaged the Sunnah, and whoever thinks ill of them thinks ill of the entire religion,

because Allah ﷻ has purified and declared them upright.

The Prophet ﷺ has purified them and declared them upright.

For this reason, Abu Zur'ah al-Razi (RH) said a statement that, in reality, makes hearts tremble.

Al-Razi (RH) says—and he is, of course, one of the imams of Jarh and Ta'dil—

He says, "If you see a man criticizing any of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, know that he is a zindiq."

That is because, to us, the Messenger ﷺ is true,

and the Quran is true,

And indeed, those who conveyed this Quran and the Sunan to us were the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

They only want to discredit our witnesses in order to invalidate the Book and the Sunnah,

so they are more deserving of being discredited.

Generally speaking, the Companions (RA) are human beings.

And no one claims their infallibility, for example.

Things occurred between them as they do among humans.

Tribulations occurred among them, but they have already received grace from Allah ﷻ.

Allah ﷻ has decreed forgiveness for them,

and commanded us to seek forgiveness for them, forbidding us from pursuing what transpired between them.

They have a declaration from Allah ﷻ

that they are upright, and that Allah ﷻ has promised them Paradise.

Therefore, it is not permissible for a person to pursue, for example, these matters

and make them a subject of discussion, hosting gatherings for them.

Regarding what occurred among the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ of disputes, warfare, and trials.

This is not permissible.

All the scholars of Islam refrain from discussing what transpired between the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ.

Therefore, it is a form of defaming them to sit and bring up what occurred between them

of disputes, warfare, fighting, and trials,

for this will certainly breed something [negative].

in the hearts of those listening to you towards the companions of the Prophet ﷺ. Never.

There will inevitably be a bias,

and this bias might lead to hating others, and then ruin occurs.

That is why Allah ﷻ says:

When Imam Ahmad (RH) was asked about the trials that occurred among the companions (RA),

he did no more

than recite

this verse:

Because Imam Ahmad wanted to teach us that this is a closed door,

it must be kept closed and cannot be opened.

And this is a matter, meaning, left silent according to the senior scholars,

according to the senior scholars.

Therefore, I swear by Allah, without perjury,

that no one has ever opened this door except that their hearts became darkened.

No one has opened this door except that their hearts became darkened.

and no speaker has delved into it but that he emerged carrying malice in his chest

against some of the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ.

the best of this nation,

this generation —

the great generation praised by Allah ﷻ.

That is why Imam Ibn Battal al-'Ukbari —

what did he say?

He says, after narrating the virtues of the Companions and mentioning very precious words

worth their weight in gold.

what did he say? He said:

"And after that, we refrain from what occurred between the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ,

for they witnessed the battles with him and preceded all people in virtue,

and Allah ﷻ has forgiven them,

and He commanded us to seek forgiveness for them,

and to draw near to Him through love of them."

Look, note this.

and drawing close to Him by loving them, while He, Glorified is He, knew what would happen from them,

and that they would fight one another.

They were only preferred over the rest of creation because error and intentional [sin] were pardoned for them,

and whatever disputes occurred between them are forgiven for them." Allahu Akbar.

Then he (RH) was truly emphatic, after speaking at length,

He said: "Do not look into the books of Siffin, nor Al-Jamal, nor the Battle of al-Dar, nor any other disputes that took place between them,

nor write them down for yourself or others, nor narrate them, nor listen to them.

Do not narrate or listen to them.

This is the standard.

This is the scholarly standard regarding the reports about

the tribulations among the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ.

This is the truth that people must follow,

because the nature of the soul...

Humanity is curious about such events,

following their chapters and their details,

but this will bring you something that might cause a catastrophe, so to speak.

For this reason, Ibn Daqiq al-Eid (RH) said: "What has been transmitted in this regard,"

meaning regarding the fitnah that occurred among the Companions, their disputes, fighting, and clashes,

and unfortunately some books were written about this.

Ibn Daqiq al-Eid (RH) says:

"Some of what is transmitted here is false and fabricated — disregard it,

and what is authentic..."

He says: 'We interpreted it favorably, because the praise for them from Allah ﷻ preceded,'

and what came after it is open to interpretation, and what is doubtful does not invalidate what is certain and known."

...and the imagined does not invalidate the verified and known.' Allahu Akbar.

Also, Imam Al-Dhahabi (RH)

said in the book of Siyar:

He also said beautiful words that align with the words of the scholars who preceded them,

as well as those who came after them; they all revolve around this same orbit.

He (RH) says: "It has been established

to refrain from discussing much of what occurred among the Companions (RA), and most of it"

"most of it is either broken in chain, weak, or fabricated,

so it should be folded away and hidden so that hearts remain pure,

and reading it is not permitted except for an objective scholar who is free from whim,

in private, while seeking forgiveness for them." Meaning, because he is a scholar,

so that he can refute them. He even said "in private," meaning it should not be read in front of people, or to read such things in public.

Look at the precision — SubhanAllah — of the scholars (RH) in this matter.

When 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz (RH) was asked about what happened among the Companions, what did he say?

He said a truly remarkable statement, one passed down by speakers, scholars, and students of knowledge.

He said: "Those are bloods Allah ﷻ kept our swords clean of, so let us not stain our tongues with them."

Allahu Akbar.

"Those are bloods Allah ﷻ kept our swords clean of, so let us not stain our tongues with them."

Meaning: Allah ﷻ saved us from them — so why should we now plunge into them?

Whoever Allah ﷻ has saved from plunging into those matters with swords,

it is fitting — rather obligatory — that he also keep

his tongue and heart from delving into such things.

My brothers and sisters: the Companions were mujtahids — the correct one gets two rewards, the one who erred gets one.

Look, they are between one reward and two rewards.

They are between one reward and two rewards. Therefore,

they have such precedence and virtues that outweigh everything else.

For this reason, the Prophet ﷺ said, "Do not abuse my Companions.

For if one of you spent gold like Mount Uhud, it would not equal a mudd of one of them, nor half of it."

For this reason, Ibn Umar (RA) had an amazing saying.

He said, "The standing of one of them" — meaning the Companions —

"for an hour with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is better

than the deeds of one of you for his entire life."

This is the methodology of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah.

It is not, as some might understand, blind fanaticism or an exaggerated, extreme sanctification.

Rather, it is justice combined with submission.

It is justice with submission and fairness, along with restraint and sincere love, without exaggeration or harshness.

For this reason, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (RH) said a wonderful statement:

"We are not among those who claim infallibility for any of the Companions (RA),"

but we know that they are the best of generations,

and that whatever mistakes they made are forgiven due to their precedence and ijtihad."

Allah is the Greatest. Therefore, a sign of a Sunni is that when

the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ are mentioned, he refrains

except by asking Allah to be pleased with them, praying for them, and loving them,

And if a Sunni hears them being defamed, his heart and tongue reject it,

as the Prophet ﷺ said: "When my Companions are mentioned, then refrain."

This is why Sahl ibn 'Abdullah al-Tustari (RH) says,

"When does a man know that he is upon the Sunnah?"

It's as if he is saying,

Sahl ibn 'Abdullah is saying: 'Do you want to test yourself?'

"When does a man know that he is upon the Sunnah?"

He said, "When he knows of himself that he does not abuse anyone,

or does not abuse the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ."

Allahu Akbar. Therefore, a person should

say as our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, has taught us:

“And [there is a share for] those who come after them, saying, "Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith and put not in our hearts [any] resentment toward those who have believed. Our Lord, indeed You are Kind and Merciful."” (Quran 59:10)

O Allah, we love the Companions of Your Prophet ﷺ,

O Allah, gather us in their group,

and make our hearts sound towards them and our tongues mindful of their virtue.

O Allah, keep us upon the Sunnah until we meet You.

Allah is Greatest. Therefore, Shaykh al-Islam says:

"Among the principles of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah

is the soundness of their hearts and tongues towards the Companions of the Messenger ﷺ,

as Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, described them."

Perhaps I will suffice with these texts from the Book and the Sunnah,

and what we mentioned of the scholars' words on this highly important matter.

This talk will continue, Allah willing, in the next session.

I leave you in Allah's care. Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.

The doer of good seeks his Lord, to attain from Him the ultimate of hopes.

So look at...

the era of the Companions (RA) and what they were upon in the bygone era.