How Many Companions Did the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ Leave Behind?

How many were the companions whom the Prophet ﷺ left behind when he passed away?

That is, were they a limited few, for example?

Or were they vast crowds, for example, spread across the horizons?

And I believe this, besides being a precise scholarly matter, is also intriguing.

O seeker of excellence, seek your Lord to attain the ultimate of aspirations.

O seeker of excellence, seek your Lord to attain the ultimate of aspirations.

So look at the era of the Companions (RA) and their way in times gone by.

Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah ﷻ be upon you.

“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)

Peace and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Welcome, brothers and sisters.

I actually always try to connect the previous episodes

and the subsequent episodes, so that the series remains fresh in all of our minds.

In the two previous episodes, I mentioned companionship and that it is a choice and selection, and I also mentioned

the definition of a Sahabi and the criteria of companionship, and how the scholars worked and strived

in defining companionship, to protect the religion and safeguard this generation.

Here, I believe this episode connects to the previous one,

as we will talk today about the number of the Sahabah.

This is, I believe, a matter that, besides being scholarly and precise, is also intriguing.

Anyone who cares about the Sahabah and is interested in their biography wants to know:

How many were these Sahabah whom the Prophet ﷺ left behind when he passed away?

That is, were they a limited few, for example?

Or were they vast crowds, for example, that spread to the horizons?

This is a legitimate question that arises in all of our minds.

Therefore, we cannot bring anything new.

The scholars who have dedicated research and writings in this field

investigated this issue extensively, exerted every effort, and strived greatly

in determining the number of the Companions (RA). Why?

Because it concerns the most noble generation known to humanity after the Prophet ﷺ, or after the prophets (AS) in general.

And because determining the number of the Companions (RA) indeed helps to understand

the nature of this generation, and how Islam spread at their hands,

and how they carried this revelation to the Ummah after the Prophet ﷺ,

and how they conveyed Islam to the farthest reaches of the globe.

Some of them died and were buried by the Wall of China and in Constantinople,

And there remained no house of wood, stone, or clay except that

Allah ﷻ brought Islam into it.

And for this reason, Ibn Abd al-Barr (RH) says:

"I do not think any religious community exists except that

their scholars care about knowing the companions of their prophets,

because they are the link between the Prophet and his nation."

So, my brothers, if it is established that a Companion is

one who met the Prophet ﷺ as a believer and died upon Islam,

and as we mentioned, even if apostasy occurred in between,

then the circle of companionship expands greatly,

and is not limited to the famous, senior Companions (RA),

nor to those who narrated many hadiths,

nor to those who resided only in Makkah or Madinah.

So whoever accepted Islam, then apostatized as mentioned, then returned to Islam

during the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ and died upon that, is a Companion by consensus of the scholars.

Whoever saw him even once and believed in him, then returned to his people, is included in this great honor,

and is among the noble Companions. The crowds that came as delegations to the Prophet ﷺ are all Companions, as long as

they met the condition of companionship, as I explained and mentioned when we defined a Companion as

whoever met the Prophet ﷺ believing in him and died upon that.

Even if they prayed a single prayer with him, or saw him for a moment,

or sighted him in the market believing in him and died upon that, he is considered a Companion.

This is the bounty of Allah ﷻ, and to Him belongs the profound wisdom in that.

Abu Zur'ah al-Razi, this giant Imam,

has a statement indicating the vastness and large number of this generation.

He says: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ died,

and those who saw him and heard from him were more than 100,000 men and women."

Well, is this number surprising? Not at all, it is not surprising at all,

if we know that Islam, at the end of the life of the Prophet ﷺ,

had reached the far corners and regions of the Arabian Peninsula.

And the ninth year of Hijrah

was one of the years in which the Islam of a large number of Arab tribes was recorded,

so much so that this year was called the Year of Delegations.

The Year of Delegations, in which, roughly...

Meaning, the verses of Surah Ali 'Imran, from the beginning of Ali 'Imran to...

...about verse eighty or more, all talk about this...

...year and the events that occurred in it.

Groups upon groups and tribes upon tribes came to the Prophet ﷺ,

all declaring Islam, though some of them, of course, did not embrace Islam, like the Christians of Najran

and others. But they came, and treaties and covenants were made between them and the Prophet ﷺ.

Therefore, this year was, in reality, the Year of Delegations.

Meaning, almost no one was left in the Arabian Peninsula, except for a rare few, but came to declare their Islam.

For example, in the Battle of Tabuk, which was in the ninth year,

the Battle of Tabuk, by the way—in the ninth year, a large number set out with the Prophet ﷺ.

When we look at the scholars' statements

regarding the estimation of the number, some of them say thirty thousand,

thirty thousand, others say forty thousand, and others say seventy thousand.

What do these views indicate?

I do not want to assert a specific number,

as much as I want to show that there was a large abundance and number of the Companions (RA).

Therefore, at the end of the Prophet's ﷺ life, people entered the religion of Allah in crowds.

For instance, Al-Shafi'i (RH),

when he spoke about the Farewell Pilgrimage,

said regarding the Farewell Pilgrimage: "They were...

thirty thousand in Medina and thirty thousand elsewhere."

So what is the total? Sixty thousand.

The Farewell Pilgrimage represented the greatest gathering of the Companions (RA).

When the people learned that the Prophet ﷺ intended to perform Hajj,

because the Prophet ﷺ had announced to the people some time before Hajj that he would perform Hajj this year,

people flocked to him from every direction—from all four directions, so to speak.

Muslims joined him from all directions. The mountain passes and plains were filled,

as described by narrators—including Jabir (RA) in Sahih Muslim—

The narration of Jabir (RA) in Sahih Imam Muslim says: "as far as the eye could see."

Meaning, he said: "as far as the eye could see." The Prophet ﷺ was in their midst,

with people on his right and on his left,

and in front of him and behind him ﷺ.

Therefore, a question indeed presents itself to us,

as we look at biographical books—the biographies of the Companions (RA).

We find that the numbers mentioned in them are much lower than these estimates.

For example, when we say the most correct view is that the number of Companions (RA) exceeded 120,000,

Is that clear? Okay.

When we look at the biographies of the Companions (RA), for example, in the books we have,

There is Al-Isti'ab on the names of the Companions by Ibn Abd al-Barr.

You have Usd al-Ghabah by Ibn al-Athir.

You have Al-Isabah fi Tamyiz al-Sahabah by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani.

This is indeed the most famous and comprehensive of these books.

Namely, Al-Isabah.

In it, Ibn Hajar (RH) collected approximately 12,297 Companions (RA).

This number, despite its size, does not represent all of the Sahabah.

Where are 12,000 or, say, 13,000, for example, compared to 100,000 or 120,000?

This is a valid question that comes to our minds. Is that clear?

This number mentioned by Ibn Hajar (RH) only...

...records those whose names are known, whose accounts are verified, and whose biographies have reached us—the biographies of these Sahabah.

However, regarding the Sahabah who narrated Hadith,

some scholars estimate their number to be...

...around 4,000, and according to others, for example, 2,000 Sahabah.

Musnad Imam Ahmad (RH), which is one of the most comprehensive collections of Ahl al-Sunnah,

...contains narrations from around 980 Sahabah.

If we look at the Sahabah whose Hadiths are recorded in the Sahihayn,

we find that they do not exceed about 228 men and women.

This leads us to the legitimate question I mentioned a short while ago:

What is the reason for the obscurity of this large number of Sahabah (RA)?

Scholars, foremost among them Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (RH), explained that

the reasons for this are due to a number of factors, the most important being that

most of the Sahabah (RA) were Bedouins and from the tribes

around Madinah or on the outskirts of the Arabian Peninsula.

Meaning, they were not permanent residents in Madinah.

They would accept Islam, meet the Prophet ﷺ, and then return to...

their lands, homes, and tribes, carrying Islam to their people.

Indeed, in the books of Sunnah, we have ahadith and stories indicating this meaning.

Some Sahabah stayed only twenty days and then returned.

Some Companions stayed for only one day.

Delegations came for just one day and returned.

It is very natural that their names were not preserved.

Many of them were also not known by their specific names.

But he is known to Allah ﷻ.

He attained the honor of faith and seeing the Prophet ﷺ.

For instance, this Bedouin who came to the Prophet ﷺ

on his camel while on the road, stopped the Prophet ﷺ and asked him,

'What is Allah's ﷻ right upon me?'

So he informed him that Allah's ﷻ right is Tawhid.

Then he accepted Islam, and the man's camel entered

into a swarm of locusts,

and he fell from his mount and died.

His name was not known, but he is known to Allah سبحانه وتعالى.

The Prophet ﷺ said, "Catch up with the man."

Two Companions (RA) went and carried him, then said, "O Messenger of Allah, he has died."

Then the Prophet ﷺ came and turned his face away. He said to the Companions (RA):

"Why did you not ask me why I turned my face away?"

And he ﷺ mentioned the story, that this man was hungry,

"and I saw the fruits of Paradise being placed in his mouth."

I am only giving an example.

Many of the Companions (RA) had their names unrecorded.

Is that clear? Therefore, this is a very natural reason why...

...the large number is not mentioned. There is another reason.

Many of those who only attended the Farewell Pilgrimage.

The Farewell Pilgrimage was in the tenth year, meaning just a few months before the death of the Prophet ﷺ.

You know that after the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Prophet ﷺ

lived for only about two or three months, or rather just a few days, before he ﷺ passed away.

That is, not enough time had passed for them to return and have their names recorded,

although there were no registers, as I will mention shortly.

So, those who accompanied the Prophet ﷺ

also returned to their homelands and countries.

Another reason is that the era of the Companions was not an era of recording names,

meaning there were none during the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ,

nor in the early era of the Companions, such as civil registries or record books of names.

The primary focus was directed towards memorizing the Quran and preserving the Sunnah,

spreading the religion, and calling to Allah ﷻ everywhere.

So recording the names was not an objective for the Companions.

When did recording start? The registers were established in the era of Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA)

when the conquests expanded and great wealth came to the Muslims.

Umar ibn al-Khattab established the Diwan to organize stipends and the army,

and to list the names of the Companions in terms of companionship.

This is clear in the Hadith of Ka'b ibn Malik regarding his staying behind from Tabuk,

where the Hadith indicated the absence of a comprehensive register of the Companions' names.

All this indicates that the obscurity of the names of many Companions is not a deficiency in their status,

nor an obscurity in their rank; rather, it shows the vastness of this generation and this great virtue,

and that companionship was not restricted or exclusive.

on the famous ones or those who narrated many Hadiths.

However, they have ranks; yes, they have ranks with Allah ﷻ.

For how many men believed and saw the Prophet ﷺ,

and returned to their people as callers and teachers, spreading Islam at their hands,

yet their names disappeared from the biographical books, but...

...their impact remained in the scale with Allah ﷻ.

And this truly teaches us a lesson: that virtue with Allah ﷻ is not measured by fame or frequent mention,

but rather by truthfulness and sincerity. And Allah ﷻ is the Grantor of success.

O seeker of excellence, seeking his Lord to achieve from Him the ultimate of hopes,

look at the era of the Companions (RA) and what they were upon in the past times.