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.