Among my companions are twelve hypocrites

في أصحابي (أمتي) اثنا عشر منافقا فيهم ثمانية لا يدخلون الجنة حتى يلج الجمل في سم الخياط

Among my companions (ummah) are twelve hypocrites, eight of whom will not enter Jannat until the camel enters the eye of the needle.[1]

This means they are hidden among the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum as Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala states:

وَمِمَّنْ حَوْلَكُم مِّنَ الْأَعْرَابِ مُنَافِقُوْنَ وَمِنْ أَهْلِ الْمَدِيْنَةِ مَرَدُوْا عَلَى النِّفَاقِ لَا تَعْلَمُهُمْ نَحْنُ نَعْلَمُهُمْ سَنُعَذِّبُهُمْ مَّرَّتَيْنِ ثُمَّ يُرَدُّوْنَ إِلىٰ عَذَابٍ عَظِيْمٍ

And among those around you of the bedouins are hypocrites, and [also] from the people of Madinah. They have become accustomed to hypocrisy. You, [O Muhammad], do not know them, [but] We know them. We will punish them twice [in this world]; then they will be returned to a great punishment.[2]

Al Munawi elucidates:

Among my companions i.e. those who are assigned to my companionship. Another narration has the wording: Among my ummah. This clarifies the meaning further.

Twelve hypocrites. They are the one who came masked intending to kill him on the night of al ‘Aqabah on his return from Tabuk but he salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam took the road of al Thaniyyah accompanied by ‘Ammar and Hudhayfah while the rest of the people were in the valley. Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala thus protected him from them and notified him of their names.[3]

Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam informed Sayyidina Hudhayfah radiya Llahu ‘anhu of their names. Al Tabarani has written in Musnad Hudhayfah the names of the people of al ‘Aqabah. He then reports from ‘Ali ibn ‘Abdul ‘Aziz from al Zubair ibn Bakkar that he listed them as:

Mu’attab ibn Qushayr
Wadi’ah ibn Thabit
Wajd ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Nabtal ibn al Harith from the Banu ‘Amr ibn ‘Awf
Al Harith ibn Yazid al Ta’i
Aws ibn Qayzi
Al Harith ibn Suwaid
Sa’d ibn Zurarah
Qais ibn Fahd
Suwaid ibn Da’is from the Banu al Hubla
Qais ibn ‘Amr ibn Sahl from the Banu Qaynuqa’
Zaid ibn al Lasit ibn al Hammam from the Banu Qaynuqa’

Just as his ummah cannot be criticised for having twelve hypocrites among them, his Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum cannot be criticised.

Naturally, Sayyidina Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhum cannot be included among these hypocrites―whom Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu pledged allegiance to, named his children after them, and married his daughter to ‘Umar―although those who think they are following the school of the Ahlul Bayt will include them due to their warped understanding.

The Rawafid are hidden in this ummah just as the twelve hypocrites were hidden among the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum aforetime.

Next⇒ There is a level in Jannat called al Wasilah

[1] Sahih Muslim Hadith: 2779.

[2] Surah al Tawbah: 101.

[3] Fayd al Qadir vol. 4 pg. 454.

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