The Virtues and High Status of the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ

Indeed, Allah ﷻ looked into the hearts of His servants and found the purest of hearts to be the heart of Muhammad ﷺ,

Then He looked into the hearts of His servants and found the purest of hearts after the heart of Muhammad ﷺ

to be the hearts of his companions, so He chose them for his companionship (RA).

They were the trustees of revelation and carriers of the Sharia,

and the connecting link between the Prophet ﷺ and his Ummah after him.

Thus, no Quran or Sunnah reached us except through them,

and the landmarks of religion were known only through their efforts and sacrifices.

Whoever seeks guidance outside their path has sought the impossible.

None in the Ummah equals the companions in virtue, goodness, and correctness,

for they witnessed the Chosen One ﷺ and beheld the secrets and lights.

O you who mention the companions, be respectful,

and recognize the great status of the companions.

They are the chosen ones who emerged under Ahmad ﷺ,

and by that, they were favored by the Bestower ﷻ.

O you who mention the Companions (RA),

be exceedingly polite.

Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah 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)

The All-Wise, the All-Aware, Who created creation with knowledge,

and distributed ranks among them with justice,

and made disparity an active cosmic law, free of futility or favoritism,

but it is an effect of His profound wisdom, absolute justice, and total Lordship.

May Allah's peace and blessings be upon His servant, Prophet, and close friend ﷺ,

and upon his family, companions, and those who follow them in righteousness

until the Day of Judgment, with abundant peace.

Welcome, my brothers and sisters, to...

the first episode of this program, 'With the First Generation'.

My brothers and sisters, Islam came with a great honoring of man as a human being,

granting him dignity, bestowing intellect upon him, and subjecting...

“Allāh - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursī extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.” (Quran 2:255)

and elevated him above many of the creations, as He, Exalted and Sublime, said:

“And We have certainly honored the children of Adam and carried them on the land and sea and provided for them of the good things and preferred them over much of what We have created, with [definite] preference.” (Quran 17:70)

"...good things and preferred them..."

“And We have certainly honored the children of Adam and carried them on the land and sea and provided for them of the good things and preferred them over much of what We have created, with [definite] preference.” (Quran 17:70)

This is an honoring of the human race and a dignifying of the species,

and the establishment of a firm human principle.

However, this general honoring

does not mean absolute equality among creation in ranks and status,

for absolute equality contradicts the fitrah

upon which Allah ﷻ has created mankind,

and suspends the laws of Allah Almighty in the universe.

Therefore, Quranic texts came to confirm that disparity

is a divine law without which life cannot function,

and values cannot be upright except in its shade.

For Allah ﷻ has favored some of His creation over others,

favoring some times over others, and some places over others,

and some people over others,

and He made for this disparity apparent and hidden wisdoms,

so that people may compete in good deeds,

and so that the people of initiative are distinguished from the sluggish,

and the people of giving from the pretenders.

Just as there is a month in time that is the master of months, which is Ramadan,

and among the days, a day that is the best of days, which is Friday,

and on Earth, a spot that is the most noble, which is Makkah al-Mukarramah,

likewise, among humans there are peaks and degrees

that vary according to the faith and truthfulness established in the hearts,

in deeds, and sincerity to Allah ﷻ.

Then, if we move to the peak of this human pyramid, we find the prophets,

peace be upon them (AS), who are the elite and the best of creation.

They are at the peak of this pyramid.

And Allah ﷻ has also favored some of them over others,

making their seal Muhammad ﷺ, and making him the master of the children of Adam,

he is the most honored of creation in status before Allah ﷻ, and the highest in rank,

and all the prophets are followers of our Prophet ﷺ.

And here, another subtle divine wisdom is manifested.

For just as prophethood is a selection and choice, companionship is also a selection and choice.

And just as the message is a choice from Allah ﷻ,

carrying and conveying it to the people is also a choice from Allah ﷻ.

For it was not possible for Allah to entrust this religion,

after revelation ceased with the death of the Prophet ﷺ.

Never would Allah ﷻ entrust this religion

to hesitant souls, or to diseased hearts,

or to fickle minds. Rather, the wisdom of Allah ﷻ dictated

that He choose for this religion men

who witnessed the revelation and knew its interpretation,

and lived through the prophetic upbringing,

and absorbed faith from its pure source.

So the Companions (RA) were

this unique, golden generation that has not and will never be repeated.

A generation nurtured by revelation,

a generation shaped by prophethood, a generation refined by trials,

a generation that witnessed all the events with the Prophet ﷺ,

emerging into history as the purest of mankind, by the testimony of Allah ﷻ.

Therefore, He ﷻ said: "Then We caused to inherit the Book those We chose..."

The scholars of Tafsir said: They are the Companions (RA),

may Allah ﷻ be pleased with them all.

So the inheritance here is not of letters, but of religion, way, and responsibility.

And that is why He ﷻ said:

“You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allāh. If only the People of the Scripture had believed, it would have been better for them. Among them are believers, but most of them are defiantly disobedient.” (Quran 3:110)

This virtue, my brothers and sisters, was not granted arbitrarily,

but conditioned on enjoining good and forbidding evil,

and believing in Allah ﷻ—qualities which were manifested

first and foremost in the Companions of Muhammad ﷺ.

Yet, despite this general virtue, the Companions (RA) were not equal in status;

rather, Allah ﷻ favored them based on precedence, sacrifice, and steadfastness.

Therefore, what did He, the Mighty and Majestic, say? He ﷻ said:

“And why do you not spend in the cause of Allāh while to Allāh belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth? Not equal among you are those who spent before the conquest [of Makkah] and fought [and those who did so after it]. Those are greater in degree than they who spent afterwards and fought. But to all Allāh has promised the best [reward]. And Allāh, of what you do, is Aware.” (Quran 57:10)

...afterward and fought—'And to all Allah has promised the best.'

And we notice how in the verse, Allah ﷻ

mentioned, 'And to all Allah has promised the best,' lest it be understood

that those who spent after the conquest and fought

have no merit with Allah ﷻ.

He said: 'And to all, Allah ﷻ has promised the best.'

This disparity which Allah ﷻ mentioned

in this verse, is because it is a disparity in deeds and a disparity in intentions,

There is no superiority of names, nor of appearances.

This distinction, in reality, as I mentioned, does not

undermine the Companions' uprightness or diminish their virtue; it adds perfection to the picture,

for all of them are upon goodness—to all, Allah ﷻ has promised the best.

All of them are upright.

All are included in Allah's ﷻ promise of the best reward.

Therefore, Abdullah bin Mas'ud, this noble Companion,

who is truly worthy of being called the Luqman of this Ummah,

because wisdom spoke through his tongue.

Abdullah bin Mas'ud (RA) says,

regarding this reality—the reality of the Companions—in the most eloquent expression,

tracing virtue to its root: the righteousness of hearts. What did he say?

He said, "Indeed, Allah looked into the hearts of His servants

and found the purest of hearts to be the heart of Muhammad ﷺ,"

then He looked at the hearts of the servants and found the purest of hearts after the heart of Muhammad ﷺ

to be the hearts of his Companions — may Allah ﷻ be pleased with them —

So the Companions, my brothers and sisters,

did not surpass the Ummah merely by the abundance of their prayer, nor only by the length of their fasting,

nor only by striving alongside the Prophet ﷺ,

but rather they surpassed it by the purity of their hearts, sincerity of purpose, and soundness of intention.

That is, Allah ﷻ looked

upon their consciences and the secrets of their hearts,

and behold, they were pure white with Tawheed, faith, and sincerity.

They never preferred their own lives over the life of the Prophet ﷺ,

and therefore, they were among those who followed this noble Prophet ﷺ,

never opposing him in either minor or major matters.

Thus, they were the trustees of revelation and the carriers of Sharia,

and the central link between the Prophet ﷺ

and his Ummah after him. Neither the Quran nor the Sunnah reached us except through them,

nor were the features of the religion known except through their efforts and sacrifices.

From this, we realize the fact that speaking about the Companions (RA)

must not be a mere historical narrative or a cultural luxury,

but rather a creedal, educational, and methodological necessity,

for by deviating in one's view of the Companions, one's view of religion deviates,

and with a sound understanding of them, the path remains safe and insight is upright.

For this reason, Al-Shafi'i (RH) has an amazing saying.

Al-Shafi'i is a giant among the giants of the scholars.

What did he say about the Companions? He said: "They are above us in all knowledge, intellect, religion, and virtue."

For this reason, the scholars used to say: "There never was, nor will there ever be, anyone like them."

meaning, like the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ. Yes,

The Companions are the elite of the elite — the best of generations, the most truthful of all.

Therefore, whoever seeks guidance through other than their path has sought the impossible.

There is none in the Ummah like the Companions in virtue, goodness, and correctness,

for they witnessed the Chosen One ﷺ and beheld the secrets and the lights.

For this reason, Al-Fudayl ibn 'Iyad says:

"My most reliable deed is the love of the Companions of Muhammad ﷺ."

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, speaking about the Companions

is not an intellectual luxury, as I mentioned, nor a mere mental indulgence,

rather, it is a Sharia and educational necessity,

for by knowing their status, the status of the religion is known,

and by following their footsteps, understanding is safeguarded and the path is protected from deviation.

Therefore, it is obligatory upon every Muslim, young or old,

male or female, to dedicate a portion of their time

to reading the biography of the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ,

because this will bring them immense goodness.

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

Look at the guidance of the Companions (RA) and what they were upon in times past, and follow the path of the people,

and follow the path of the people wherever they turned. Take the right path; the left path leads astray.

By Allah, they chose nothing for themselves but the paths of guidance in speech and action.

They walked upon the path of the Messenger ﷺ and his guidance, and him they emulated in all circumstances.

What an excellent companion for a seeker of guidance, for his ultimate return on the Day of Gathering...

...will be the best return of the obedient and humble to their Lord, who speak the most truthful words,

those who abandon every evil deed and perform the best of deeds.

They made their desires follow the religion of His Prophet ﷺ, while others are the opposite.

No deficiency tainted their religion, nor did the ignorant extremist's excess affect their speech.

They acted upon what they knew and did not overburden themselves,

so their guidance was not tainted by misguidance, while others abandoned guidance and called to misguidance,

for they are the guides for the confused.

for those who follow their guidance and do not fear being led astray.

They are the stars in guidance, illumination, high status, and lofty reach,

walking among people with humility, speaking the truth, not with the ignorance of the ignorant,

with forbearance, knowledge, piety, humility, and sincere advice, along with the rank of excellence,

keeping vigil at night in obedience to their Lord, in recitation, supplication, and asking,

and their eyes overflow with tears like the pouring of heavy rain,

monks by night, and when striving against their enemy, they are among the bravest of heroes.

And when the banner of competition appears, you see them racing to perform righteous deeds,

on their faces is the mark of prostration to their Lord, and upon them are the rays of His shining light.

The Book has indeed made clear to you their attributes in Surat al-Fath, the clear and lofty,

and in the fourth of the seven long Surahs are their attributes: a people He loves, and in Bara'ah and al-Hashr is their description,

and in "Hal Ata" (i.e., Surat al-Insan) and in Surat al-Anfal.

and other things that the scholars have said regarding the companions of the Prophet ﷺ.

And this, my brothers and sisters, is what we will discover through this program,

and through these episodes in a structured manner, based on summarization and establishing principles,

not on mere historical narration,

Rather, it is a fresh scholarly approach that puts ranks in their proper positions,

and reveals that this generation is unlike the generations before or after it.

May Allah Almighty guide us and you to the straight path.

And I will meet you in the next episode to set sail with the companions of the Prophet ﷺ.

And Allah Almighty knows best.