3. Superiority between the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum

The honourable Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum are not all on the same rank, but rather there is difference and superiority between them in virtue and honour. The Imams of the Ahlus Sunnah have addressed this in their books, relying on evidence that indicates to this. Thus, the best of them, in general, is Abu Bakr al Siddiq radiya Llahu ‘anhu, then ‘Umar al Faruq radiya Llahu ‘anhu, then ‘Uthman Dhu al Nurayn radiya Llahu ‘anhu, then ‘Ali al Murtada radiya Llahu ‘anhu. The evidence for this will come comprehensively and in detail in the following chapters, Allah willing.

Abu Mansur al Baghdadi states:

أصحابنا مجمعون على أن أفضلهم الخلفاء الأربعة ثم الستة الباقون بعدهم إلى تمام العشرة وهم طلحة والزبير وسعد بن أبي وقاص وسعيد بن زيد بن عمرو بن نفيل وعبد الرحمن بن عوف وأبو عبيدة بن الجراح ثم البدريون ثم أصحاب أحد ثم أهل بيعة الرضوان بالحديبية

Our companions have unanimously agreed that the best of them are the four Khalifas, then the six remaining al ‘Asharah^[1], viz. Talhah, al Zubair, Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas, Sa’id ibn Zaid ibn ‘Amr ibn Nufayl, ‘Abdur Rahman ibn ‘Awf, and Abu ‘Ubaidah ibn al Jarrah, then those who participated in the Battle of Badr, then those who participated in the Battle of Uhud, then the people of the Pledge of Ridwan at al Hudaybiyyah.^[2]

Al Qadi Abu Bakr al Baqillani states:

والذي يصح في هذا الباب القول بالقطع على فضل الأئمة الأربعة وأنهم أفضل من سائر العشرة وجميع باقي الأمة

What is correct in this regard is to believe with certainty in the superiority of the four Imams and that they are better than the rest of the ten and the rest of the entire Ummah.^[3]

Many narrations have been reported on their virtues, whether as individuals or groups, in the light of which scholars reached this consensus. The Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum that participated in the Battle of Badr are the best of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum due to al Bukhari’s narration from Muaz ibn Rifa’ah ibn Rafi’—whose father was one of those who participated in the Battle of Badr—who said:

جاء جبريل إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال ما تعدون أهل بدر فيكم قال من أفضل المسلمين أو كلمة نحوها

Jibril ‘alayh al Salam came to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and asked, “How do you consider the people of Badr among you?”

He salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam replied, “Among the best of the Muslims,” or a sentence to that effect.^[4]

It is known from the definition of a Companion that scholars have established that ‘Isa ibn Maryam ‘alayh al Salam is counted among the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum, because he met the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam during his salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam life. There is no doubt that he is the best of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum then, due to him being a prophet in addition to being a Companion, and that is a virtue that is not found in any of the other Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum.

Hence, al Hafiz al Sakhawi said:

اعلم أنه بمقتضى ما قررناه في تعريف الصحابي يلغز فيقال لنا صحابي أفضل منه – أي من أبي بكر- هو عيسى المسيح عليه السلام وإليه أشار التاج السبكي بقوله في قصيدته التي في أواخر القواعد:

خير الصحاب أبي بكر ومن عمر	من باتفاق الخلق أفضل مِن
من أمة المصطفى المختار من مُضر	و من علي ومن عثمان وهو فتى

Know well that the definition of a Companion that we have established creates a riddle. It can be said that there is a Companion better than Abu Bakr radiya Llahu ‘anhu. He is ‘Isa ibn Maryam ‘alayh al Salam. Al Taj al Subki alluded to him in his poem at the end of al Qawa’id by saying:

Who, by consensus of creation, is better than the best of Companions, Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Ali, and ‘Uthman?

He is a young man from the Ummah of the chosen one, from (the tribe of) Mudar.^[5]

Al ‘Allamah Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad al Talib ibn al Haj states in his Hashiyah ‘ala al Murshid al Mu’in:

وجوابه

نبينا المصطفى في أحسن الصور	ذاك ابن مريم روح الله حيث رأى
كذاك عند ظراب البيت والحجر	فوق السموات ليلا عندما اجتمعا

His answer is:

That is the son of Maryam, Ruh Allah, when he saw our chosen Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam in the best of forms,

Above the heavens at night when they met, likewise, at the door of the Ka’bah and the Black Stone.^[6]

This superiority of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum over those who came after them is a form of etiquette that must be observed with the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum. Similarly, awarding each one of them his position, according to what the evidences from the Qur’an, Sunnah, and the consensus based on them indicate, is also a form of etiquette that must be observed towards them.

The adherence of the Ahlus Sunnah to this sequence is nothing but their following of the evidence and the noble Shari’ah, as we mentioned previously. This is not done out of whims or prejudice. This is a feature that Allah has honoured the Ahlus Sunnah alone with, among all the groups of misguidance and passions, such as the Rawafid sinners, the Khawarij, and others. What indicates to this is that among the four Khalifas, the Ahlus Sunnah declare superiority to Sheikhayn, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, then ‘Uthman Dhu al Nurayn over ‘Ali, Abu al Hasanayn radiya Llahu ‘anhum, because the noble Shari’ah has stated thus. It is necessary to follow the noble Shari’ah. However, when it comes to the children of the Khalifas, the Ahlus Sunnah declare superiority to the children of ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu from Fatimah al Zahra’ radiya Llahu ‘anha over the children of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhum, because the Shari’ah has also mentioned this, and it must be followed. If this matter was based on whims and fancies, the children of Sheikhayn radiya Llahu ‘anhuma would be given superiority over the children of ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu from Fatimah radiya Llahu ‘anha.^[7] Therefore, appreciate and honour this saved and victorious group.

When we know this, the fallacy, invalidity, and contradiction in the statement of the author of al Ghayah become clear, when he said:

لم يرد نص في الوحيين يزجر من لم يقدم فلانا على فلان من الصحابة رضي الله عنهم أو أن تقديم فلان فيه إزراء بآخرين أو أن من قدم أبا بكر فأجره كذا وكذا ومن

قدم عليا فثوابه كذا بيد أن أهل العلم اتفقوا على أنه يجب احترام الصحابة واعتقاد فضلهم وعدالتهم وتقدمهم

There is no textual evidence in the two revelations (i.e. Qur’an and Sunnah) that rebukes anyone who does not declare superiority to so-and-so over so-and-so from the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum or that declaring superiority to so-and-so is disregard to others, or that whoever declares superiority to Abu Bakr radiya Llahu ‘anhu will receive such-and-such a reward and whoever declares superiority to ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu will have such-and-such a reward. However, the scholars are unanimous that it is obligatory to respect the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum and to believe in their superiority, integrity, and superiority.^[8]

You can see how he claims that there is no evidence for superiority in the Qur’an and Sunnah and that a person is not admonished for not declaring superiority nor is he rewarded for doing so. Then after two lines, he says that scholars are unanimous on the obligation of their superiority. He means that scholars, as a whole, are unanimous on the obligation of a matter for which there is no evidence in the Qur’an or the Sunnah. The one who sees and believes that there is no evidence for the superiority of Abu Bakr over ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, and ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhum, must also realise that there is no evidence for the superiority of all the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum over the non-Companions. Otherwise, how can he claim that there is evidence that necessitates believing in their superiority over others; however, there is no similar evidence that necessitates believing in the superiority of some of them over others, whereas the evidence for both types of superiority is from one valley? What is indicative of being evidence for this is indicative of being evidence for that, without any difference. Glory be to Him who demolishes falsehood with the pickaxes of its guardians and destroys it with the hands of its supporters.

In short, he imagined that the scholars in Islam are like the rabbis of the Jews and Christians who fabricate things on Allah without evidence. This is if we assume that he understands the meaning of ‘obligation’, otherwise there is no doubt that he is excused, according to the common people, even though he is not excused by Allah, as he spoke about the din of Allah without knowledge of it, let alone being ignorant of the evidence.

How can he claim that there is no textual evidence in the two revelations that admonishes those who do not declare superiority, etc., while we will see later many decisive texts that indicate to the fact that the most superior is Abu Bakr? This means that we must declare superiority to those whom we know through evidence that Allah has granted them superiority and demote those whom we know that Allah has demoted, but the Zaidi Sheikh believes that Allah does not admonish a person for demoting those whom evidence indicates that they are granted superiority by Allah. This is actual ignorance and misguidance.

It also shows the invalidity of the statement of some of the reviewers of his book who said that the issue of tafdil is not from the topics of beliefs and Allah will not ask His servants on the Day of Qiyamah, “Who is the best of My servants?”^[9]

This is a false and incorrect statement, because it has been proven that the superiority of Sheikhayn over Abu al Hasanayn is something that the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum and all the Ahlus Sunnah agreed upon. Therefore, it is from the issues of beliefs. As for Allah asking His servant on the Day of Qiyamah, this is related to the issue of iman. How does a person enter into Islam? What are the things that he must believe in detail in order to be considered a Muslim? What are the things that must be believed in general? When does detailed belief become obligatory in matters that essentially are matters that one must believe in general?^[10]

In the subsequent section, we will see the ruling of the scholars—including ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu himself—on those who demoted Sheikhayn and did not declare their superiority.

NEXT⇒ 4. The ruling of those who declare general superiority to ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu

^[1] The ten Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum who were given the glad tiding of Jannat in one specific narration.

^[2] Al Baghdadi: Usul al Din, pg. 304. Many of the later scholars have quoted it from him. See, for example, al Nawawi: Sharh Muslim, 15/148; al Tibi: Sharh al Mishkat, pg. 2840.

^[3] Al Qadi al Baqillani: Manaqib al A’immah al Arba’ah, pg. 294.

^[4] Sahih al Bukhari, book on Battles, 5/80, Hadith: 3992; al Dihlawi: Izalat al Khafa’, 1/113.

^[5] Al Sakhawi: Fath al Mughith, 4/113. See this riddle of al Taj al Subki in his book al Ashbah wa al Naza’ir, 2/344.

^[6] Refer to Muhammad ibn Ismail al Muqaddam: Al Mahdi, pg. 63; al Suyuti: Al Hawi li al Fatawa, 2/293, 294, in which there are useful linguistic observations. Then he indicated that it is valid for Ibrahim radiya Llahu ‘anhu, the son of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and for Fatimah radiya Llahu ‘anha due to kinship, not in the sense of the abundance of reward and closeness to Allah. We have said more than once that superiority in this regard is not the subject of dispute between the Ahlus Sunnah and the Rawafid.

^[7] Al ‘Allamah al Farhari states in al Nibras, pg. 203:

أما فضل أولادهم فلا شك أن أولاد فاطمة رضي الله عنها أفضل للأحاديث وقد يقال فضل غيرهم على ترتيب فضل آبائهم وفيه نظر لعدم الدليل الشرعي عليه قلت لعل أمر أم المؤمنين سيدتنا عائشة رضي الله عنها وهي بنت سيدنا أبي بكر يختلف لا لكونها بنت أبي بكر بل لأن هناك نصوصا صحيحة وردت في تفضيلها ولكن على أي حال فإن مسألة تفضيلها ليست إجماعية على خلاف تفضيل الشيخين ففي أمرها سعة والله أعلم

As for the superiority of their children, there is no doubt that the children of Fatimah radiya Llahu ‘anha are superior, due to several ahadith. Some say that the superiority of others is according to the order of their father’s superiority. This is disputable due to the lack of Shar’i evidence for it. I say, perhaps the matter of Umm al Mu’minin ‘Aisha radiya Llahu ‘anha, who is the daughter of Abu Bakr radiya Llahu ‘anhu, is different, not because she is the daughter of Abu Bakr radiya Llahu ‘anhu, but because there are authentic texts that have been reported about her superiority. In any case, the issue of her superiority is not unanimous, unlike the superiority of Sheikhayn, so there is flexibility in her matter. And Allah knows best.

^[8] Ghayat al Tabjil, pg. 45.

^[9] Ghayat al Tabjil, pg. 8, ‎9. (The preface of Professor ‘Ali al Hashimi.)

^[10] Refer to the ninth discussion (The dangers of error in the belief of the Muqallid) of chapter four of our book Hujjat Allah al Balighah, pg. 384–406.

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