Surah At-Tawba (9) — Ayah 100

(Ayah 100) ➊ {وَ السّٰبِقُوْنَ الْاَوَّلُوْنَ …:} After mentioning the hypocrites residing in Madinah, then mentioning some of the hypocrites among the Bedouins around it, and then mentioning the sincerity of some of the believing Bedouins and giving them glad tidings of His mercy, now the mention is of those fortunate ones of higher ranks among them. Thus, in this verse, three groups from the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) are praised. The first group is the foremost among the Muhajirun. There are various opinions from the commentators regarding their identification: those who left their properties, homes, and businesses in Makkah and migrated; some say those who prayed towards both Qiblahs; some say the companions of Badr; some say those up to the pledge of Ridwan; and some say the companions up to the conquest of Makkah. In any case, all of them certainly have a kind of precedence over others. The second group is the foremost among the Ansar, who came from Madinah and pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) at Aqabah during Hajj in the 11th year of Prophethood. They were seven individuals. In the second pledge of Aqabah, which took place in the 12th year of Prophethood, seventy (70) men and two women participated. Then those who became Muslim at the hands of Mus'ab bin Umair (may Allah be pleased with him) before the Prophet's migration to Madinah, and then all the people of Madinah who became Muslim after the Prophet's arrival in Madinah—all of them have precedence in varying degrees. The third group is those who, after the foremost Muhajirun and Ansar, attained the honor of faith and migration or support, as mentioned in Surah Al-Anfal after mentioning the Muhajirun and Ansar: «{ وَ الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا مِنْۢ بَعْدُ وَ هَاجَرُوْا وَ جٰهَدُوْا مَعَكُمْ }» [ الأنفال : ۷۵ ] "And those who believed afterwards and migrated and strove hard along with you." Thus, all the companions (may Allah be pleased with them) who believed after the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah during the Prophet's lifetime and remained steadfast upon it are included in this third group.

➋ Al-Alusi, the author of Ruh al-Ma'ani, said: "Many commentators have taken «{ وَ السّٰبِقُوْنَ الْاَوَّلُوْنَ مِنَ الْمُهٰجِرِيْنَ وَ الْاَنْصَارِ }» to mean all the companions (may Allah be pleased with them) of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), because by virtue of the honor of the Prophet's companionship, they have precedence over all those who came after, which no one else could attain. And «{ وَ الَّذِيْنَ اتَّبَعُوْهُمْ بِاِحْسَانٍ }» (and those who follow them with excellence) refers to all those Muslims who come until the Day of Judgment and who, following in the footsteps of the companions (may Allah be pleased with them), act sincerely only upon the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Messenger." Because people of any other sect may claim to follow their Imam, but they cannot claim to follow all the companions in a good and excellent manner, because the actions of the companions were only upon the Qur'an and Sunnah. At that time, there were neither sects nor those after whom sects were named. The reality is that this interpretation is also absolutely correct; however, to take only the technical Tabi'un from this verse, meaning those who saw the companions in a state of faith, is not correct at all, because those who follow the Muhajirun and Ansar with excellence are not only them, but all Muslims until the Day of Judgment in whom sincerity and excellence in word and deed are found. Yes, the technical Tabi'un are included in them in the foremost degree.

➌ Among the companions (may Allah be pleased with them), the most virtuous is Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the first in Islam and was the Prophet's companion in migration as well. Then, in order, are the ranks of the other caliphs (may Allah be pleased with them). After them are the rest of the ten given glad tidings of Paradise, among whom are Talhah, Zubair, Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas, Sa'id bin Zaid, Abdur Rahman bin Awf, and Abu Ubaidah bin Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with them). Then is the rank of the companions of Badr and Aqabah, and after them those who participated in the pledge of Ridwan, then those who became Muslim before the conquest of Makkah and performed migration and support. Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah are agreed upon this order of the companions' virtues.

➍ {رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ وَ رَضُوْا عَنْهُ:} Since the reason for attaining Allah's pleasure and the glad tidings of entering Paradise that has been mentioned, i.e., migration and support, is permanent, no one can take this honor away from them. Therefore, the glad tidings received for this are also permanent and forever. Thus, the thought of any of these companions (Allah forbid) becoming apostate cannot even be imagined, because Allah cannot give the glad tidings of His pleasure and Paradise to someone about whom He knows that he will become apostate. Just as Allah has complete knowledge of past and present circumstances, He has complete knowledge of everything that is to come. How can He give the glad tidings of Paradise and pleasure to those who will die upon disbelief? Then how wretched and accursed are those people who, generally against these personalities and especially against the most virtuous and beloved to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), and the pure wives of the Prophet, the Mothers of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with them), who also attained the honor of migration and support, continue to show insolence, abuse, slander, and revile them, and call them by bad names.

10. 1 In this, three groups are mentioned: one, the Muhajirun, who, for the sake of religion and at the command of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ, migrated from Makkah and other regions, leaving everything behind and came to Madinah; the second, the Ansar, who resided in Madinah, and at every opportunity helped and protected the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and warmly welcomed and honored the Muhajirun who came to Madinah, presenting all they had in their service. The third category is those who, with sincerity and goodness, follow these Muhajirun and Ansar. According to some, this group refers to the technical Tabi'un, who did not see the Prophet ﷺ but were honored with the company of the Companions, and according to others, it is general, meaning all Muslims until the Day of Judgment who love the Ansar and Muhajirun and follow in their footsteps are included in this. The technical Tabi'un are also included among them.

10. 2 The meaning of "Allah is pleased with them" is that Allah has accepted their good deeds, forgiven their human errors, and is not displeased with them. For if it were not so, why would the glad tidings of the blessings of Paradise, which are given in this verse, be given to them?

100. The first and foremost of the Emigrants and the Helpers, and those who followed them in the best manner [112], Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. Allah has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the supreme success.

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The Earliest Muhajir and Ansar Companions and Their Names:

Among men, the very first to embrace faith was Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). Among women, it was Sayyidah Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her). Among boys, Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and among slaves, Sayyiduna Zaid bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him). Except for Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), all the rest were members of the Prophet’s ﷺ household. Then, through the efforts of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), those who embraced faith were: Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Zubair bin Awwam (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him), and Sayyiduna Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him). After them, many people became Muslim, and all of these are the earliest Muhajirin and the forerunners. And among the Ansar, the forerunners and earliest were those five individuals who first pledged allegiance at the night of Aqabah, namely: Hazrat Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him), ‘Awf (may Allah be pleased with him), Rafi’ (may Allah be pleased with him), Qutbah (may Allah be pleased with him), and Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him). Then, those who pledged allegiance at the second Aqabah were twelve individuals. Then, at the third Aqabah, seventy individuals pledged allegiance. And all of these had embraced Islam before the Hijrah of the Prophet ﷺ. By ﴿السابقون الاولون﴾ is meant those early Muslims who supported Islam and the Messenger of Islam in every hardship and difficulty until Allah’s word was exalted. Now, it is evident that those Muslims who endured the severe persecutions of the disbelievers and polytheists should have a higher rank than ordinary Muslims, and accordingly, they are more deserving of reward and elevated ranks in the sight of Allah. However, there is much difference among the scholars regarding their identification. According to some, it refers to those Muslims who accepted Islam before the Prophet’s ﷺ migration. According to others, it refers to those Muslims who prayed facing both Qiblahs (Bayt al-Maqdis and the Ka’bah). According to some, the forerunners are those Muslims up to the Battle of Badr. Some extend this circle up to the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, and according to others, all the Muhajirin and Ansar, the Muslims of the surrounding areas, are considered the forerunners in relation to the generations that came after them. And in terms of meaning, there is no contradiction in all these statements because precedence and primacy are relative matters. Therefore, the same person (or group) can be a forerunner in one respect and a follower in another.

The Identification of the Sabiqun al-Awwalun:

In our view, by the forerunners are meant the Muslims up to the Battle of Badr, because after the victory at Badr, Islam became a force to be reckoned with, and, secondly, the spoils of war strengthened the Muslims’ economy. Or, at the most, this circle can be extended up to the conquest of Khaybar, when the emigrants from Abyssinia had also returned, and the economic condition of the Muslims had improved to the extent that they returned the date-palm trees they had borrowed from the Ansar. The later Muslims did not have to endure the hardships faced by the earlier Muslims, nor did they face economic difficulties.

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The Virtue of the Tabi‘in:

Just as there is a difference regarding the identification of the earliest forerunners, there is also a difference regarding the followers, because whatever limit we set for the forerunners, from that point onward the followers will begin. According to some, it refers to the remaining Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), according to others, the Tabi‘in are also included among them, and according to some, the followers of the Tabi‘in and all Muslims until the Day of Judgment are included, provided that they remain steadfast upon the way of the earliest forerunners, that is, they adhere to the Book and Sunnah, perform righteous deeds, and follow them with utmost sincerity.