The Status of the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in the Quran
This lecture explains how Allah ﷻ Himself established the high status of the Companions (RA) of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in the Quran. By highlighting their truthfulness, altruism, and purity of heart, the speaker demonstrates why defending their honor is essential to protecting the religion. It emphasizes that the Companions (RA) serve as the gateway to understanding Islam.
Allah ﷻ did not leave the status of the Companions (RA) to be a subject of human reasoning,
nor did He make judging the Companions (RA) subject to personal tastes, whims, or emotions.
Rather, Allah ﷻ, Glorified and Exalted, Himself undertook the commendation of the Companions (RA) and revealed their qualities.
Therefore, He sent down verses that are recited, immortalizing the qualities of these Companions (RA) in definitive texts of His Mighty Book,
to serve as a constant standard by which their value is known, their status is preserved, and all doors of slander and doubt are closed
directed at the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ, because the Companions (RA) are the gateway to the religion, may Allah be pleased with them.
O seeker of goodness, seek your Lord to win from Him the ultimate of hopes.
O seeker of goodness, seek your Lord to win from Him the ultimate of hopes.
Look at the era of the Companions (RA) and what they were upon in bygone times.
Peace be upon you, and the mercy and blessings of Allah ﷻ.
“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)
And may Allah's peace, blessings, and prayers be upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Welcome, my brothers and sisters,
to a new episode in this series about the first generation,
this unique, golden generation, the companions of Muhammad ﷺ.
Perhaps today I will speak about the characteristics of the companions in the texts of revelation.
Indeed, Allah ﷻ did not leave the status of the companions
to be subject to human reasoning,
nor did He make judging the companions a matter
of personal tastes, whims, or emotions,
Rather, Allah ﷻ, Glorified and Exalted be He, Himself undertook
the praise of the companions and the disclosure of their qualities.
Therefore, He revealed verses to be recited, immortalizing the qualities of these companions
in decisive texts in His Noble Book,
to serve as a constant standard by which their value is recognized,
safeguarding the status of these companions,
and closing all doors of defamation and doubt
directed at the companions of the Prophet ﷺ.
The real target is the religion, not the Companions (RA), for the Companions (RA) are the gateway to the religion, may Allah be pleased with them.
The Holy Quran did not mention the Companions in passing, nor did it praise them metaphorically,
Rather, it revealed their secrets and laid bare their intentions,
and made clear the reality of what settled in their hearts.
Therefore, in the texts of the two revelations, they became a described generation, not an unknown one,
and one that is vindicated, not accused.
For this reason, we find the words of the giants of Islam
to be harsh against anyone who tries to defame the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ,
because in reality, he is defaming the Quran,
the Quran which described these Companions in an amazing way.
For example, Allah Almighty described the Companions
with purity of purpose and nobility of goal.
So what does Allah ﷻ say? He says:
"[It is] for the poor emigrants who were expelled from their homes and their properties, seeking..."
Let us pause at "seeking."
Seeking is always an action of the heart,
Indeed, scholars define intention, or say that
among the meanings of intention are seeking, sincerity, and will, as actions of the heart.
“For the poor emigrants who were expelled from their homes and their properties, seeking bounty from Allāh and [His] approval and supporting [the cause of] Allāh and His Messenger, [there is also a share]. Those are the truthful.” (Quran 59:8)
What is tazkiyah? "It is they who are the truthful."
"It is they who are the truthful."
This verse is not just a description of a passing social condition.
This is a divine dissection, meaning it revealed the intentions and delved into the secrets
which none knows but the Knower of the unseen, Glorified and Exalted.
So Allah ﷻ combined for these Companions (RA) of the Muhajirun, between poverty—
meaning, in the description when Allah ﷻ mentioned the Muhajirun,
He combined what they suffered from: poverty, displacement, loss of wealth, and exile.
Right? All of this was for the sake of Allah ﷻ.
Meaning, this was not to seek worldly gain or spoils,
but rather our Lord ﷻ established that their motivation, drive, and instigation
deep within themselves was seeking the bounty of Allah ﷻ and His pleasure, Glorified and Exalted is He.
They want—they want Allah ﷻ, and they want the Home of the Hereafter.
What a commendation! A great commendation, a great commendation.
And that is why Allah ﷻ concluded the verse by saying: "It is they who are the truthful."
Meaning, these secrets of the hearts, the hidden depths of the souls, known only to Allah ﷻ,
Allah ﷻ concluded by confirming they are truthful.
Truthful with Allah, with the Messenger ﷺ, and with the religion of Allah.
Truthfulness in words, actions, and state— may Allah ﷻ be pleased with them and make them pleased.
Therefore, He made truthfulness an inherent quality of theirs.
It is not a mere claim, nor a temporary state.
Truthfulness in covenant, steadfastness until the end. He ﷻ says:
“Among the believers are men true to what they promised Allāh. Among them is he who has fulfilled his vow [to the death], and among them is he who awaits [his chance]. And they did not alter [the terms of their commitment] by any alteration -” (Quran 33:23)
This verse establishes a great concept in the character of the Companions (RA):
that their hearts did not contradict their actions,
and that their words did not precede their deeds.
Some fulfilled their covenant until they met Allah ﷻ,
and some of them remained waiting, but what did they all have in common?
"And they never altered [their covenant] in the least."
Allah is the Greatest. "And they never altered [it] in the least."
A statement that blocks the path of anyone who tries to defame the Companions (RA),
or claims they were men of a certain phase or opportunists, for example,
or that they wavered.
Therefore, we must not pass over these verses lightly.
Rather, we should pause at them, delve into them, and extract their treasures.
Give them your hearts.
The Quran will not give us its treasures unless we give it our hearts.
Likewise, my brothers and sisters, the matter of altruism and purity of heart.
The Quran recorded something truly amazing regarding the Ansar.
When He spoke about the Muhajireen, He moved to the Ansar. What did Allah ﷻ say?
This is one of the most amazing ways Allah ﷻ described a generation of humans.
Because altruism in times of need is truly the pinnacle of nobility and self-purification.
The human soul is naturally inclined to love wealth, the world, and ownership.
But for a person to give all of this up for others, out of altruism,
is truly an exceptional case, so to speak.
Therefore, what did Allah ﷻ say about them? He said:
Some people might give and prefer others, but wounds remain.
A need remains. A lingering resentment remains in the soul.
As if he blames himself for giving this thing away.
No, the Companions (RA) did not have this.
Therefore, Allah ﷻ denied that they had any envy or resentment,
or any covetousness for what others possessed.
That is why, how did Allah ﷻ end the verse? He ended it by saying:
A great commendation. Likewise, the Companions (RA)...
Allah ﷻ forgave their lapses.
By the way, the Holy Quran did not depict the Companions (RA) as angelic figures,
who do not make mistakes or commit the errors that other humans do.
Rather, it mentioned some of their lapses to show their high status in receiving forgiveness
from Him ﷻ after sinning,
and to emphasize that they are the best of people,
after their Prophet ﷺ.
For example, in the Battle of Uhud, you know
that in the Battle of Uhud, the Prophet ﷺ ordered the archers
not to leave their positions, even if they saw birds snatching away the spoils.
They are human beings.
They saw the spoils of war being gathered
and they saw the polytheists fleeing, paying no attention to anything.
They came down, while only ten of the Companions (RA) remained, adhering to the command.
Those came down, and the disaster occurred; the tide of the battle turned.
Therefore, what did Allah ﷻ say?
Then He ﷻ said immediately after that:
Allahu Akbar! This forgiveness came very swiftly— clear and decisive.
Allah ﷻ has forgiven them,
so that it is known that what occurred from them
did not remove them from the circle of divine pleasure and chosenness.
Because what does this swift forgiveness indicate?
that they have a high status with Allah ﷻ.
Also, tranquility during hardship.
In the Battle of Hunayn,
He, the Almighty, said:
Tranquility only descends upon hearts qualified for it,
upon hearts prepared for this tranquility.
Tranquility is only given to those whose faith is firmly established.
Thus, this verse was, in reality, another testimony
to the steadfastness of the hearts of the Prophet's ﷺ companions in...
...moments of turmoil and conflict,
may Allah ﷻ be pleased with them and make them pleased.
Allah ﷻ sent down His tranquility.
Likewise, repentance during the hour of difficulty.
He, the Almighty, says regarding the Battle of Tabuk in this verse:
Allahu Akbar.
He mentioned them along with a prophet and singled them out for repentance.
He mentioned them along with the Prophet ﷺ and singled them out for repentance.
He explained this by saying:
By your Lord, is there any selection after this selection?
Is there any honoring after this honoring?
Indeed, the specific references to some of the Companions (RA) are very numerous.
Therefore, the Holy Quran did not explicitly mention any Companion (RA) by name except for one man, Zayd (RA).
I have mentioned this before. But it referred to others with signs that no insightful person could miss.
For example, who is the companion of the cave? It is well-known.
He is Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (RA), the most righteous, the most pious, may Allah ﷻ be pleased with him.
“When he said to
his companion:”
Look at the Salaf's statements—from the Companions (RA) and those after them—in interpreting these verses; they all point to whom?
To Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (RA),
who sacrificed himself to support Allah and His Messenger, and to support the religion of Allah ﷻ.
Therefore, there is no need to name him because he is well-known.
Sometimes, leaving a name indefinite when it is well-known is a form of honoring them.
It is also intended to establish their status, not to obscure their identity.
In general, my brothers and sisters, I have mentioned
some traits of the companions (RA) in the Book of Allah Almighty.
And I focused on the qualities of the heart— qualities of the heart before they became practical behaviors,
and traits of faith before being historical facts.
Truthfulness, selflessness, steadfastness, forgiveness, tranquility, repentance, and seeking the Face of Allah Almighty.
Whoever reads these qualities with an objective eye will know that this generation was not...
...praised merely because they lived in the era of prophethood, but because they were worthy of it.
to carry the religion and the message after the Prophet ﷺ.
This talk continues, in sha'Allah, in the next session.
Allah is the Guardian of the righteous.
He seeks his Lord to achieve through Him the ultimate of deeds.
So look at the era of the Companions (RA) and what they were upon in the bygone era.