The Shia Belief Regarding the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ: A Critical Evaluation

The belief of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah is that the Companions of the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with them all, and especially Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, may Allah be pleased with them, are the most excellent personalities after the Prophets. Their evidence for this belief is the verses of the Book of Allah in which they are praised, and the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, in which they are commended and described. Reason demands the success of those who were trained in this greatest school of history, whose teacher and mentor was Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and all this was under the supervision of Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. The reality also bears witness to this because they conquered the world in a short period.

Whereas the Twelver Shia declare this school to have failed and say that except for a few, all the Companions failed. These few are as few as the fingers of one hand.

In Al-Kafi, it is narrated from Humran ibn Ayyan that he said: I asked Abu Ja’far: “May I be sacrificed for you, how few are we that if we gather on one goat, we cannot finish it?” He said: “Shall I tell you something stranger than that? All the Muhajirin and Ansar had apostatized except three,” and he indicated the number three with his hand.

Is this ruling rationally acceptable or not?

Because when sound intellect is protected from external influences and works with sincerity in the pursuit of facts, then access to the truth is achieved.
Here, we briefly explain the reality of this sequence:

Firstly:

The emigrant companions were polytheists and followers of their own people’s religion. When Allah Almighty sent His Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, among them, he criticized their religion, called their scholars fools, and declared their beliefs false. His people denied him, peace be upon him, and rejected this invitation. Some among them opposed their people and accepted Islam despite all adverse conditions. Their people inflicted hardships on them, severed ties, beat many, and killed some. Whoever became a Muslim fell out of their favor and was deprived of gatherings. They cut off their food and water. Some showed patience, some families supported and backed them, and some left their homeland and endured the hardships of foreign lands and migrated to Abyssinia, leaving behind homes and families, taking neither wealth nor worldly gains. Neither Shia nor Sunni denies this reality. However, it appears that Shia books have not fully detailed the complete circumstances of these faithful people, nor is there any mention of the difficulties they faced because of Islam. Therefore, whenever any accusation was made against these individuals, the Shia readily accepted it.

Second:

Those individuals who embraced Islam either became Muslims due to their contentment with this religion and faith in the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, or else whatever they did—accepting Islam, believing, enduring hardships—would all be deceit and hypocrisy to reach that unseen realm which Islam governs, namely the support, dominance, and establishment of the religion.

Let us take an example from recent times to clarify this reality.

❀ This is Khomeini: Khomeini emerged during the reign of a tyrannical king who caused him suffering, imprisoned him, made his life difficult, and then exiled him. Even in these harsh conditions, some people remained loyal to Khomeini and became his disciples. They too had to endure imprisonment and exile like Khomeini. So, is it possible now to say that these disciples were liars, that they were not content with Khomeini but joined him hoping for worldly gains?

❀ If anyone says such a thing, their statement will be rejected, despite the fact that in the light of modern knowledge and experience, such an expectation might be possible, but we do not claim any such thing.

Whereas in the Quraysh society, there was no such experienced or knowledgeable person whose presence would allow this possibility to be accepted absolutely.

If this possibility cannot be accepted from Khomeini’s companions despite certain reasons, then this possibility and expectation is far from the Muhajirun companions, may Allah be pleased with them.

Monday:

These gentlemen are the Ansar, may Allah be pleased with them, who came from Medina for Hajj and met the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and they embraced Islam. Then they returned and invited their people to Islam, and many of them accepted Islam.
The next year, these people went again for Hajj.
This was a large group who met the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, accepted Islam, and pledged allegiance to him for his support. Although they were aware of the enmity of his people. At that time, the hostility of all the Arabs and the expected consequences of it were understood, while the true outcomes were known only to Allah Almighty.
Did these people embrace Islam out of love for Allah Almighty and His Messenger, peace be upon him, and pledge allegiance for war and fighting? Or was the purpose of pledging allegiance and embracing Islam that they knew eventually they would gain power and sit there as caliphs?
There is no doubt that a wise person who respects his intellect even a little cannot deny that the thing which made these people embrace Islam and incited them to pledge allegiance was the love of Allah Almighty and His Messenger, peace be upon him.

Fourth:

These gentlemen are the Ansar, may Allah be pleased with them, who warmly welcomed their Muhajir brothers coming from Makkah Mukarramah. They opened their homes for them and sacrificed their wealth for their sake. They distributed these possessions among them to such an extent that the Ansar even offered to divorce one of their wives so that their Muhajir brother could marry her.
❀ Were all these actions driven by worldly greed and desire, about the future of which they had no knowledge, whether they would gain anything from it or not? Or was their motivation faith in Allah and His Messenger?
❀ Can you find any example in human history where a person spends his home and wealth on a brother just because he will receive an imaginary and vague world?
❀ Expressing doubts and suspicions about such facts is actually a denial of the facts, which leads to a loss of trust in the apparent reality of history and truth, and human intellect becomes a victim of folly and madness.

Fifth:

We all know that Hazrat Abu Bakr, Hazrat Umar, Hazrat Uthman, and Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with them) were all with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ from the early days of Islam. Regardless of who among them accepted Islam first or later.
❀ From the beginning of the call, these people supported the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. At any time, whether traveling or staying, in war or peace, in fear or safety (in any condition), they did not leave his side, except on those few occasions when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave a command.
There is no difference of opinion between Shia and Ahl al-Sunnah on this matter.

Sixth:

Either these people were believers both outwardly and inwardly, or they were only outwardly believers, while inwardly they were waiting for the passage of time regarding the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
The second point is rejected by Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah. However, for the sake of reaching a logical conclusion, let us accept it for a moment.

Seventh:

If these people were really like that, then what:
Did the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, know about these things or not?
If he knew, then – استغفر الله ، و معاذ الله you yourself were the main reason for that, because you were aware of their corrupt and evil intentions, yet you kept these people with you on all those occasions. Every person who saw you, peace be upon him, also saw these people with you. And every person who narrated from the Prophet, peace be upon him, also narrated the closeness of these people to you. This is apparent evidence that you, peace be upon you, loved them and were pleased with them.
Moreover, you praised them.
Even further, you went a step ahead and married some of their daughters yourself, and gave some in marriage to your daughters.

Eighth:

You used to consult these gentlemen in many of your affairs, and you used to accept their opinions.

Ninth:

You commanded Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) to lead the companions (may Allah be pleased with them) in prayer, and during all the days of the illness of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) himself could not come out, it was he who continued to perform the duty of leading the prayer.
If this happened with the consent and authority of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) did not have this capability, then معاذ الله this is a great deception upon the Ummah.
And if this happened without the consent and willingness of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), that those people surrounded the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and imposed themselves upon him, then معاذ الله this is an insult to your prophethood, which causes loss of confidence in the message of prophethood and risalah.
This means that out of fear, you brought those people close to you and praised them even though you did not want to.
When you can praise them unwillingly out of fear, then who knows how many things of the religion you must have concealed out of fear of those people. استغفر الله .
And then what trust is there that you must have explained many things according to their wishes out of fear?
Such matters destroy trust and confidence in the religion of Allah Almighty.
Then all the narrations transmitted by these persons lose trust and confidence.
These are the very people who transmitted the Quran.
To testify to the faith of all these persons is like testifying to the faith of Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). This testimony elevates and raises the trust and credibility of all these persons because they transmitted the Quran.
In our view, the faith of all these persons is correct and established.
For us, distinguishing between the believer and non-believer among them is not possible without their own testimony.

Tenth:

Then either Allah Almighty knew that these people were believers both outwardly and inwardly: or He did not know.
If Allah Almighty knew this, and this is our belief that Allah Almighty knew, then we seek forgiveness from Allah Almighty for such baseless objections and seek refuge. And then Allah Almighty maintained the closeness of these individuals to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, not only that, but He chose them for the company of His Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and in many verses of the Quran, He praised and commended them. This is evidence of their faith and their virtues.
If Allah Almighty did not know, we repent from such unbelieving and oppressive people’s kufr beliefs. Then this is an insult to Allah Almighty’s Lordship, from which Allah Almighty is far above.
And if Allah Almighty knew the state of their inner condition, yet still kept them with His Prophet, although Allah Almighty had knowledge of their true state, but still did not inform His Prophet about it, then this is an insult to the Creator, the Originator. استغفر الله
Then what happened, happened by the will of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, that these people remained around His Prophet ﷺ and became dominant over him, and did not allow the proof of Islam to be established over the people. While Allah Almighty says:

رُّسُلًا مُّبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنذِرِينَ لِئَلَّا يَكُونَ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَى اللَّهِ حُجَّةٌ بَعْدَ الرُّسُلِ ۚ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًا ‎

“The Messenger who gave good tidings and warned, so that mankind would have no argument against Allah after the messengers. And Allah is Ever All-Powerful, All-Wise.”

Tenth Reason:

And if Allah Almighty knew that these people were indeed believers but would later become apostates, and would betray the trust regarding the will, and yet He kept them in that state, and did not reveal their condition, but rather praised and glorified them, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ also praised and glorified them. And Allah Almighty did not inform the Noble Prophet ﷺ about their condition. Then this is an accusation against Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. Because whatever happened between them, according to Shia belief, was caused by Allah Himself. We توبه و استغفار do not engage in such fabricated matters. But the purpose of these false and fabricated statements is to awaken the dormant thought of the Shia, so that they may be saved from these fabricated and concocted traditions which have surrounded these people from all sides. And they have left no opportunity for reflection and contemplation for them.

Eleventh Reason:

The belief of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah is that Allah Almighty sent His Prophet Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, so that he could establish an Islamic government. The Divine command is:

يُرِيدُونَ أَن يُطْفِئُوا نُورَ اللَّهِ بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَيَأْبَى اللَّهُ إِلَّا أَن يُتِمَّ نُورَهُ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْكَافِرُونَ ‎ (32)‏ هُوَ الَّذِي أَرْسَلَ رَسُولَهُ بِالْهُدَىٰ وَدِينِ الْحَقِّ لِيُظْهِرَهُ عَلَى الدِّينِ كُلِّهِ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْمُشْرِكُونَ ‎ (33)‏

“They want to extinguish Allah’s light with their mouths, but Allah refuses except to perfect His light, even if the disbelievers dislike it. It is He who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to make it prevail over all religions, even though the polytheists dislike it.”
And Allah, Glorified and Exalted, says:

هُوَ الَّذِي أَرْسَلَ رَسُولَهُ بِالْهُدَىٰ وَدِينِ الْحَقِّ لِيُظْهِرَهُ عَلَى الدِّينِ كُلِّهِ ۚ وَكَفَىٰ بِاللَّهِ شَهِيدًا

“He it is who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to make it prevail over all religions. And Allah is sufficient as a Witness.”
❀ This was Allah Almighty’s promise to His Noble Prophet, peace be upon him. So, did the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him, fulfill this purpose?
❀ Certainly, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, trained such a group who could establish such a state, and he brought them out of the darkness of polytheism into the light of faith. He also granted them a high status and rank before the people and honored them with closeness. Among them were his advisors and companions. And from among them, he chose one man, honored him with special closeness, and at the greatest occasion, granted him a high status, so much so that people recognized his worth and began to honor him. Before this, neither this man nor his family had such status among their people. May Allah be pleased with this personality.
❀ This man, whom the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him, granted this high status, so that his greatness became clear even in the eyes of the Companions, if he was truly worthy of it, then the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him, made a correct decision and reached the truth. And this is our belief.
❀ And if he was not deserving of this status, استغفر الله العظيم then the Prophet, peace be upon him, would have caused a man to be given a high status who would later change the religion, break the Prophet’s will to establish an Islamic state, and instead establish a kingdom of disbelief. معاذ الله That such a thing happened.
❀ That personality and individual was Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him.
❀ He was honored with closeness to the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him, at every occasion.
❀ And when the greatest event in history occurred, when you were migrating to establish the Islamic state, at that time you were granted the honor of companionship.
Allah Almighty says:
إِلَّا تَنصُرُوهُ فَقَدْ نَصَرَهُ اللَّهُ إِذْ أَخْرَجَهُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا ثَانِيَ اثْنَيْنِ إِذْ هُمَا فِي الْغَارِ إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَاحِبِهِ لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَنَا ۖ فَأَنزَلَ اللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَيَّدَهُ بِجُنُودٍ لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا وَجَعَلَ كَلِمَةَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا السُّفْلَىٰ ۗ وَكَلِمَةُ اللَّهِ هِيَ الْعُلْيَا ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ ‎

“If you do not aid him, then indeed Allah aided him when those who disbelieved had driven him out, he was one of two, when they were in the cave and he said to his companion, ‘Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us.’ So Allah sent down His tranquility upon him and supported him with soldiers you did not see and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowest, while the word of Allah – that is the highest. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.”
❀ Then the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him, married his daughter Hazrat Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her. This was a great honor for Hazrat Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, that his daughter became the Mother of the Believers. May Allah be pleased with her. Allah Almighty’s noble command is:

النَّبِيُّ أَوْلَىٰ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ ۖ وَأَزْوَاجُهُ أُمَّهَاتُهُمْ ۗ وَأُولُو الْأَرْحَامِ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلَىٰ بِبَعْضٍ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُهَاجِرِينَ إِلَّا أَن تَفْعَلُوا إِلَىٰ أَوْلِيَائِكُم مَّعْرُوفًا ۚ كَانَ ذَٰلِكَ فِي الْكِتَابِ مَسْطُورًا

“The Prophet is more worthy of the believers than themselves, and his wives are their mothers. And in the Book of Allah, the relationship of kinship is more entitled over one another among the believers and the emigrants, and that you do good to your friends. This command is written in the Book.”
❀ At the time of the Battle of Badr, you were the closest to the Prophet’s tent. No other person was there besides these two.
❀ At the time of your death, you, peace be upon him, ordered Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, to lead the people in prayer. There are many other occasions that clearly show the special status and closeness of Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, with the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him. This is established in our most authentic books.
❀ This was the reason why the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, pledged allegiance to you, made you the Caliph, and continuously pledged obedience to your every command and prohibition. You sent armies to conquer various regions and appointed Hazrat Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, as Caliph after you, and people obeyed him as well. Although your tribe was neither large nor powerful, nor did you have wealth to attract people, yet with the consent of all the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, you were buried beside the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him.
❀ You remained highly respected during your life and after your death. What was the reason for this? The reason was your closeness to the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him.
❀ If this is true, as we believe, then Hazrat Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, was a part of the purpose for which the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was sent.
And if this is false, استغفر الله – we seek forgiveness from the presence of the Messenger of Allah for such assumptions. Our purpose is to awaken those who have been trapped by these false traditions, which cause disrespect to the presence of the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him, by implying that he did not fulfill the purpose of his mission.
❀ Can reason accept that all these matters happened without the consent of the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him, while he himself had granted this rank and greatness to Abu Bakr Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him?

Seventh Chapter:

If these people had apostatized by leaving Islam, then tell me, which religion did they turn to after leaving Islam?!
❀ Their lives are an open book.
They established the Oneness of Allah, continued to perform prayers, paid zakat, observed the fasts of Ramadan, performed the pilgrimage to the House of Allah, waged jihad in the way of Allah, and conquered the earth. They recognized what was halal as halal and what was haram as haram. They did not abandon any part of the religion.
❀ In the age of ignorance, their religion was against the above-mentioned matters. So then, to which religion did these people turn?
❀ If someone says: they abandoned the Imamate (Caliphate) and appointed another person as Caliph!
Then we ask: if one person from one tribe became Caliph, then how did all the tribes agree that one person from one tribe should become their king, and these people apostatize, and because of that they bear the loss of their religion? And then they hurried to obey such a person who had apostatized. Whereas these people accepted a different religion contrary to the religion of their forefathers, implemented it in their lives, and then spent their entire lives spreading this religion and waging jihad in its path.
Isn’t this an open contradiction on their part?!
Isn’t this an open contradiction on their part?!
Did they not have even a little zeal and honor for their religion and dignity to declare rebellion and disobedience against the person who imposed such a religion on them which they were neither happy nor satisfied with?
❀ Did this not happen, as the Shia believe, that the Imamate was violated and ended, even though Imamate was one of the pillars of religion? And then they were compelled to accept the rest of the religion, which without Imamate would be of no use to them before Allah, as the Shia believe.
❀ Rather, they were demanded to wage jihad in this path and accept death on this basis. They willingly proceeded in this path, even though doing so would be of no benefit to them before Allah, as the Shia believe. This is because they did not pledge allegiance to the appointed Imam designated by Allah, as the Shia claim.
❀ Just think! If there are some people who benefit from all this, then what is the fault of those tens of thousands? Should they be counted among those few individuals?
❀ Sound intellect does not accept all these possibilities that arise from incorrect narrations attributed to the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet, and that such a large number are declared apostates. This is a conspiracy born out of jealousy, hatred, and enmity against the Prophet’s cousin, Amir al-Mu’minin Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Qurashi Hashimi, may Allah be pleased with him.
As the Shia people think. And they did not envy Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, because he was not from the Banu Hashim tribe, whose respect was maintained in the age of ignorance and also in Islam.
❀ Without doubt, the rational arguments that uproot all these claims have an endless sequence. But here we suffice with a few indications. And these are enough for those whose hearts Allah has opened and whose intellects have awakened, so that they may ponder these matters and pray to Allah to guide them to the right path.

Indeed, Allah protects those who seek refuge in Him and seek His protection.
Finally, I pray to Allah to guide our hearts, awaken our intellects, correct our understanding, protect us from all trials, and gather the entire Ummah under the banner of the Qur’an, following the Sunnah of the trustworthy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and the path of his companions. Indeed, He is the Hearer and Knower.

First:

Our belief is that love for Ahl al-Bayt is part of religion and faith. We accept their love as the religion of Allah Almighty, and through this love, we attain closeness to Allah Almighty. Because sending blessings upon these people is among the obligations of prayer, without which our prayer is not complete.
However, we also believe that the traditions and beliefs attributed to Ahl al-Bayt are not correct. These matters can be stated in the light of this scholarly approach, which simultaneously aligns with reason. This rational discourse is an example and model of that.

Second:

The basis of our discussion is those traditions and beliefs upon which the structure of other beliefs is built. And contradictions are found among them. Attributing them to the Ahl al-Bayt is in no way correct.
In the end, we advise that the book of the Shia scholar Ayatollah al-Uzma al-Barqai, who took upon himself the task of reforming the Shia religion,

, should definitely be studied. In this book, he exposes the conspiracy and plan against Islam and the people of Islam. It contains matters that are worthy of being written in gold. We hope that this rational discussion will awaken such serious thought and reflection, in which the veil will be lifted for those who seek the truth. And it will become possible for the Ummah to unite under one banner on the Book and Sunnah.