Fath al-Rabbani

It is that the righteous predecessors (salaf saliheen) have clarified this reality even in the books written on the subject of creed (‘aqa’id), as if accepting the uprightness (‘adalah) and truthfulness (sidq) of the noble Companions (sahabah kiram) is an issue of our creed. At this point, as an example, only two references from books of creed are presented.

Ibn al-Salah and al-Nawawi said: “All the Companions are upright (‘udul), and at the time of the Prophet’s (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) death, there were one hundred and fourteen thousand Companions. The Qur’an and the reports explicitly state their uprightness and greatness, and whatever occurred among them has several possible interpretations, which cannot be mentioned in this book.” (Al-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqah, Ibn Hajar al-Haythami: 2/640)

That is: Hafiz Ibn al-Salah and Imam al-Nawawi said: All the Companions are upright, and at the time of the Prophet’s (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) death, there were one hundred and fourteen thousand Companions present. The Qur’an and narrations clarify their uprightness and greatness, and whatever occurred among them has several possible interpretations, which cannot be mentioned in this book.

Ibn Hajar said: “The people of the Sunnah are unanimously agreed that all the Companions are upright, and none differed in this except a few innovators.” (Ru’yat al-Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam li-Rabbihi, Muhammad bin Khalifah al-Tamimi: 1/356)

Hafiz Ibn Hajar said: The people of the Sunnah are unanimously agreed that all the Companions are upright, and none differed in this except a few innovators.

The second point is that it is also an accepted reality that infallibility (‘ismah) is only a characteristic of the Prophets and Messengers, but it cannot be ignored that, compared to the general Ummah, the standard of piety of the Companions and the manner of holding them accountable for mistakes is different. We will suffice with only two examples.

From ‘Ali bin Zayd, he said: Something (objectionable) reached Mus‘ab bin al-Zubayr (radi Allahu anhu) from the chief of the Ansar, and he intended to rebuke him. At that moment, Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (radi Allahu anhu) came and said to him: I heard the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) say: “Treat the Ansar well (or he said: with kindness). Accept from their doers of good, and overlook those among them who err.” Upon hearing this, Mus‘ab (radi Allahu anhu) threw himself down from his bed, placed his cheek on the ground, and said: “The command of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is upon my head and eyes (i.e., I accept it wholeheartedly),” and he left the Ansari alone. (Musnad Ahmad: 3/241)

‘Ali bin Zayd says: Some (objectionable) matter reached Mus‘ab bin al-Zubayr (radi Allahu anhu) from the chief of the Ansar, and he intended to rebuke him. At that moment, Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (radi Allahu anhu) came and said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) say: Accept the advice of doing good to the Ansar Companions; treat their doers of good with kindness, and overlook those among them who err.

(Upon hearing this) Sayyiduna Mus‘ab (radi Allahu anhu) threw himself down from his bed, placed his cheek on the ground, and said: The statement of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is upon my head and eyes (i.e., I accept it wholeheartedly). Then he left the Ansari alone.

In this hadith, the Noble Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) has presented a general principle regarding his Companions in general and the Ansar in particular: that their doers of good should be treated with kindness, respect, and honor, and if any human shortcoming is seen in any of them, it should not be made a topic of discussion, and their matter should be left to Allah Ta‘ala with silence adopted. The predominant assumption is that the oceans of their good deeds and virtues will overwhelm the drops of their human slips.

Observe the humility and modesty of Sayyiduna Mus‘ab bin al-Zubayr (radi Allahu anhu) before the hadiths; perhaps, appreciating these very sentiments, Allah Ta‘ala chose these sacred souls to support the religion and to be the helpers and supporters of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), and forbade finding faults in them.

From Abu Sa‘id (radi Allahu anhu) that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “Do not revile any of my Companions, for if one of you were to spend gold equal to (the mountain of) Uhud, it would not reach the measure of a mudd of one of them, nor even half of it.” (Sahih Bukhari: 3673, Sahih Muslim: 2540)

Sayyiduna Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri (radi Allahu anhu) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: Do not speak ill of any of my Companions, for if one of you were to spend gold equal to the mountain of Uhud, it would not reach even a mudd or half a mudd of what they spent.

A mudd weighs 525 grams, and half a mudd is 262 grams. This is the standard of the Companions’ good deeds: that gold equal to the mountain of Uhud cannot compare to even this small amount of wheat, dates, or barley given in charity by them.

From Anas (radi Allahu anhu), he said: There was a dispute between Khalid bin al-Walid (radi Allahu anhu) and ‘Abd al-Rahman bin ‘Awf (radi Allahu anhu). Khalid said to ‘Abd al-Rahman: “Do you boast over us because of the days in which you preceded us (in Islam)?” It reached us that this was mentioned to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), so he said: “Leave my Companions for me. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if you were to spend gold equal to Uhud or the mountains, you would not reach their deeds.” (Musnad Ahmad: 3/266)

Sayyiduna Anas (radi Allahu anhu) says: There was some discussion between Sayyiduna Khalid bin al-Walid (radi Allahu anhu) and Sayyiduna ‘Abd al-Rahman bin ‘Awf (radi Allahu anhu). Khalid said to ‘Abd al-Rahman: If you accepted Islam before us, why do you boast over us because of that? When this reached the Noble Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), he said: Leave my Companions for me. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if you were to spend gold equal to Uhud or the mountains (in the way of Allah), you would still not reach the level of their deeds.

The period of trial and tribulation in which the earliest Companions supported Islam is not hidden from anyone. At that time, accepting Islam at all was a matter of great courage and was tantamount to incurring the enmity of cruel people. In those difficult times, these personalities served Islam and performed great feats to convey it to the next generations. The sacrifices of those who came later cannot be compared to their character.

If these three hadiths are kept in view, the following points come before us:
1. It is possible for the Companions to err.
2. Their errors cannot be discussed; rather, such aspects should be ignored altogether.
3. Compared to those who came later, they will receive greater reward for their good deeds.

Now we begin our actual topic.

It is correct that historians could not formulate any rules and regulations for scrutinizing historical events, as the hadith scholars (muhaddithin) did for the verification of hadith. Most historians appear to be “night gatherers” (i.e., indiscriminate collectors), but we have no other means of accessing these historical details in depth. From the books of hadith, such information is found only in extreme brevity.

As a preface, we have summarized the disputes among the Companions (mushajarat al-sahabah) in the light of the following historical books, so that it becomes clear which disputes we intend to present the position of the salaf about:
- Waq‘at Siffin, Nasr bin Muzahim al-Minqari (d. 212 AH), published by al-Mu’assasah al-Hadithah li-l-Tiba‘ah wa-l-Nashr wa-l-Tawzi‘, S: 1382 AH
- Tarikh Baghdad, al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Abu Bakr Ahmad bin ‘Ali, published by Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut
- Al-Bidayah wa-l-Nihayah, Ibn Kathir, Abu al-Fida’ Isma‘il bin ‘Umar bin Kathir (d. 774 AH), published by Hajar li-l-Tiba‘ah wa-l-Nashr wa-l-Tawzi‘ wa-l-I‘lan
- Tarikh Islam, Shah Mu‘in al-Din, published by Islami Academy Lahore, S: 1996 CE

Now we turn to our actual topic:

On Friday, the 18th of Dhu al-Hijjah, 35 AH, the third Caliph, Sayyiduna ‘Uthman (radi Allahu anhu), was martyred. For three days, the seat of the caliphate remained vacant. Among the senior Companions, the personality of Sayyiduna ‘Ali (radi Allahu anhu) appeared to be unanimously agreed upon. Thus, it happened that Sayyiduna Talhah and Sayyiduna Zubayr (radi Allahu anhuma), along with the Muhajirun and Ansar, came to Sayyiduna ‘Ali (radi Allahu anhu) and requested that the selection of a caliph was necessary. Upon their insistence, Sayyiduna ‘Ali (radi Allahu anhu) accepted this position.

The most important stage for Sayyiduna ‘Ali (radi Allahu anhu) was to exact retribution (qisas) from the killers of ‘Uthman, but due to certain reasons, he was unable to do so. Nevertheless, the general public and even the senior Companions so strongly desired retribution that they did not consider the constraints of Sayyiduna ‘Ali (radi Allahu anhu). Along with this, Sayyiduna ‘Ali (radi Allahu anhu) was opposed to most of the governors from the era of ‘Uthman, especially the governor of Syria, Sayyiduna Amir Mu‘awiyah (radi Allahu anhu). Therefore, as soon as he assumed the seat of the caliphate, he decided to dismiss all of them. However, wise well-wishers, including the politically astute Sayyiduna Mughirah bin Shu‘bah (radi Allahu anhu), opposed this, but Sayyiduna ‘Ali (radi Allahu anhu) did not accept anyone’s advice. In 36 AH, he dismissed the governors appointed by ‘Uthman and appointed new ones in their place. In this regard, Sayyiduna Suhayl bin Hunayf (radi Allahu anhu) was appointed governor of Syria, and he set out for Syria.

Sayyiduna Amir Mu‘awiyah (radi Allahu anhu) was a shrewd ruler and had held the governorship of Syria with great influence for twenty to twenty-two years. Certainly, it was not easy to dismiss him. This is what happened: he did not allow Sayyiduna Suhayl bin Hunayf (radi Allahu anhu) to enter the borders of Syria and sent him back from Tabuk.

Sayyiduna Amir Mu‘awiyah (radi Allahu anhu) succeeded in stirring the emotions of the Muslims of Syria by making the martyrdom of ‘Uthman his cause and through various means. As a result, sixty thousand people pledged to seek retribution for Sayyiduna ‘Uthman (radi Allahu anhu).

Sayyiduna ‘Ali (radi Allahu anhu) became aware of all the facts and began preparations to confront Sayyiduna Amir Mu‘awiyah (radi Allahu anhu). This was the first time that the swords of the Muslims were being drawn against each other. For this reason, many Companions were hesitant about participating; many opposed and remained neutral.

Along with the desire for reconciliation, practical efforts for peace were also made. States of hesitation and indecision were also present. In the midst, the mischief of the Sabaiyyah (subversive elements) was also at work. As a result, the Muslim Ummah faced such severe trials in the form of the Battle of the Camel (Jamal) and the Battle of Siffin, the effects of which continue to this day (may Allah protect us). Even after this, the struggle between Sayyiduna ‘Ali and Sayyiduna Amir Mu‘awiyah (radi Allahu anhuma) for control over each other’s territories continued. Eventually, reconciliation was also achieved between the two parties. In any case, the entire period of Sayyiduna ‘Ali (radi Allahu anhu) passed in civil strife. Due to being preoccupied with internal conflicts, there was no opportunity to focus on external conquests. However, some victories were achieved in Sistan and Kabul, and in 38 AH, an attack was launched on Kohkan by sea. Eventually, Sayyiduna ‘Ali (radi Allahu anhu) was fatally attacked, and on the third day after being wounded, on the 20th of Ramadan, 40 AH, he departed from this world.

After him, in the same month, Sayyiduna Hasan (radi Allahu anhu) was given allegiance. He was very gentle, forbearing, peace-loving, and naturally averse to conflict and fighting.

After the martyrdom of Sayyiduna ‘Ali (radi Allahu anhu), Sayyiduna Amir Mu‘awiyah (radi Allahu anhu) got the opportunity to fulfill his long-standing desire to rule over the Islamic world. Thus, he marched on Iraq. When Sayyiduna Hasan (radi Allahu anhu) learned of the advance of the Syrian army, he sent Qays bin Sa‘d al-Ansari (radi Allahu anhu) ahead with twelve thousand troops and himself followed behind. Although there were examples of betrayal by the Iraqi army, there was also a reasonable number of loyalists. The main point was that Sayyiduna Hasan (radi Allahu anhu) did not want to acquire the caliphate at the cost of Muslim blood. Therefore, on a few conditions, in Rabi‘ al-Awwal 41 AH, he announced his abdication in favor of Sayyiduna Amir Mu‘awiyah (radi Allahu anhu). Thus, his period of caliphate amounts to six months.

With this abdication, the following prophecy of the Noble Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was fulfilled:

Hasan al-Basri says: When Hasan bin ‘Ali (radi Allahu anhuma) marched towards Mu‘awiyah with his armies, ‘Amr bin al-‘As said to Mu‘awiyah: “I see a battalion that will not turn back until the last of them is killed.” Mu‘awiyah said: “Who will look after the children of the Muslims?” He replied: “I will.” Then ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amir and ‘Abd al-Rahman bin Samurah said: “Let us meet him and propose peace.” Hasan said: “I heard Abu Bakrah say: While the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was delivering a sermon, Hasan came, and the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: ‘This son of mine is a leader, and perhaps Allah will bring about reconciliation between two great groups of Muslims through him.’” (Sahih Bukhari: 7109)