Rational proofs of the virtues of the Sahabah radiya Llahu `anhum

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Rational proofs of the virtues of the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum

 

First Proof

Everyone knows that when Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala sent His Rasul salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam to the Arabs and commanded him to proclaim his nubuwwah in the early stages of Makkah, all those around him were disbelievers and polytheists. His friends and folk became his enemies and belied him. Some regarded him as mad and others declared him insane (Allah forbid). In the first six years, notwithstanding calling people and displaying miracles, only a few Muslims less than forty in number accepted the message. After these six years, the numbers of Muslims began increasing, the call to Islam took a more public and open approach and Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam began openly declaring the pillars of din. It was at this point that the persecutions of the people of Makkah intensified to such an extent that the Muslims were forced to leave Makkah and emigrate to Madinah. Islam began growing gradually. Thereafter, Islam spread so rapidly that in a span of a few years the Muslim population reached the thousands and hundred thousands and multitudes upon multitudes of people entered the din.

A point of reflection is that those who in the very beginning embraced Islam, believed the message of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, attested to his nubuwwah and recited the shahadah without hesitation and delay, who abandoned their previous religion without consulting their family and friends, forsook their former brotherhoods and held onto the merciful teachings of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, who opposed their associates and acquaintances and carried the burden of obeying Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam on their shoulders; there must have been a very strong reason for such people to forsake the religion of their forefathers and adopt a completely new faith at such a sensitive time. Otherwise, we know fully well that to abandon your faith and adopt a new one is extremely difficult. To discard a life of luxury and choose a life of adversity without a strong reason is despised by all. Now if we study the reasons why the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum accepted Islam in the early stages, we will find one of two reasons viz. love for din and hope for salvation or greed for the world and a crave for wealth.

If we examine the first reason i.e. the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum accepted Islam hoping for salvation and left their household to attain the pleasure of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala then we can never imagine that such people would later on abandon this faith and remove the love they had for Islam from their hearts. In fact, we can declare with certainty that those who accepted Islam in a hostile environment and bore hardship and sorrow for the din for years, only to win the pleasure of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala will never ever abandon this faith. If we examine the second reason i.e. they became Muslims out of greed for this world and due to a crave for wealth, then this is something unimaginable for a person with a speck of iman, intelligence and shame because in the early stages of Islam there was no question of gaining worldly amenities and acquiring wealth. It is therefore established that the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum embraced Islam only hoping for their salvation in the hereafter. When their acceptance of iman is due to this reason, it is impossible for them to turn away from this faith thereafter.

 

Second Proof

If we study the lives of the al khulafa’ al Rashidin, the Muhajirin and the Ansar radiya Llahu ‘anhum we attain full conviction that they would follow each and every footstep of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and would not allow their whims and desires to feature anywhere. They continuously remained in search for the pleasure of Allah and His Rasul salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Even their enemies could not deny that they fulfilled the responsibility of being the companions of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam in the best possible way and gladly sacrificed their lives and wealth for him. The kuffar and mushrikin left no stone unturned in harming and causing pain to Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. When the kuffar began abusing Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, what unrelenting support the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum lent to him and what a tremendous effort they made in conveying his message! When the Arabs in general and the Quraysh in particular got ready to harm Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, his friends stood as a shield to protect him and when Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was commanded to emigrate and wage jihad, what great sacrifices were made by the Sahabah to combat the kuffar! How many goblets of the love of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala did the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum not drink? If they had no love for Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala and Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, then why did they sacrifice their lives and wealth and why did they undergo hardships and difficulties? Think! Whose love removed the Muhajirin from their houses and whose love infatuated the Ansar?

 

رنگین کہ کرد مژگا نم ایں چنیں لعل و گہر کہ ریخت بدا مانم ایں چنیں

Who coloured my eyes in this way?

And who spread pearls and precious stones in my lap?

 

I challenge the Shia. Were the senior Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum, the Muhajirin and the Ansar not partners to Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam in moments of grief and adversity? Did they not sacrifice their lives, wealth and honour for Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam? Did they not forsake their friends and acquaintances? Did they not endure sufferings in the spreading of Islam? Will you acknowledge or reject such clear evidences? There is no scope for rejection so acknowledge you will have to! If you choose to reject their sacrifices and endeavours then at least have some fairness as to what must be their lofty status in the sight of the one whom they sacrificed for? Alas! You only acknowledge, respect and adore Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu.

If anyone had to be your partner in adversity, lend you support in sorrow and grief, abandon his associates and join you and sacrifice his life and wealth for you, would he not win honour in your eyes and love in your heart? If yes, then understand the same connection between Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum. Deal without biasness. When people are from all sides labelling Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam as a sorcerer and a madman thus hurting his heart, then those who are addressing him as “O Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam! O beloved of Allah!” and when his very family is causing him harm and pain, then those who stood as a shield and protected him; what a high status must such people enjoy in his sight? O friends! If you do not shut your eyes of fairness, there will be no limit to the rank of the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum. Who on this earth can ever reach their rank and attain their status? Does anyone have the ability to say, “I believe O Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam!” when he invites us to Allah and his entire nation belies him? Does anyone have the strength to emigrate with Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and hide in the cave? Who has the capability of hosting Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the poor Muhajirin in his house like the Ansar? Can a day ever come again that Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam advances to the Battle of Badr and we accompany him and Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala sends the angles to assist us announcing His happiness with us?

O brothers! That era has passed. That time remains no more. Those who were to acquire that bounty have acquired it. Those who were to be enrolled among the Muhajirin have been enrolled and those who were to enter the domain of the Ansar have entered that domain. A person can sacrifice a thousand lives but cannot attain the virtue of the forerunners of the Muhajirin and Ansar. A person can spend the entire earth’s wealth but will not be enlisted among the participants of Badr or those who pledged the allegiance of Ridwan. The recipients of that virtue have received their virtue.

 

حریفاں بادھا خوردند و رفتند تھی خمخانہا کردند و رفتند

The warriors displayed their chivalry and have left the tavern empty.

 

O friends! Why do you not have love and respect for those who attained guidance and studied directly from Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam? Does your intelligence accept that out of hundreds of thousands who stayed in the company of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, true iman did not affect the hearts of any and out of the innumerable persons who performed salah and participated in jihad with him, none of them remained steadfast on Islam notwithstanding that they remained in the company of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam at home and on journey and heard his advices day and night and witnessed with their eyes the approach of Jibril ‘alayh al Salam and the revelation of Qur’an and yet did not abandon their hypocrisy. (May Allah forbid!) All the miracles Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam displayed to them had absolutely no effect on them and all the supplications he made for them were unanswered?! With a little even-handedness, think, that can any Muslim have this belief and will any Muslim taint the image of his Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and declare all his students and disciples as renegades and disbelievers? Think a little. If all the students of a scholar remain ignorant and all the associates remain incompetent and all the disciples of a pious person remain transgressors then will people not have evil thoughts about these people? Most definitely. Thus, to believe in the apostasy and disbelief of all the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum is actually criticising the nubuwwah of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. May Allah protect us from this!

 

Third Proof

This fact cannot be rejected that Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was sent at such a time when people had rejected the concept of towhid and had concocted the religion of Nabi Ibrahim ‘alayh al Salam. They would fight like animals. They became deaf to knowledge and wisdom, abandoned good character and became accustomed to ignorant rituals. Hence, Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala raised Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam to the pedestal of nubuwwah to teach the people towhid, to abandon shirk, to explain the method of worship, to continue the religion of Nabi Ibrahim ‘alayh al Salam and to instil good character. Allah left the responsibility of the guidance of mankind on his shoulders. Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala had predestined Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam to be the final Rasul and the Seal of Prophethood, hence Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala gathered in him all the virtues, expertise and miracles and granted him all the methods of guiding and teaching which were given to the prophets individually. In fact, Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was bestowed with such miracles which no other nabi enjoyed and given an unprecedented concession so that no sect or group remains deprived of the blessings of his nubuwwah, no one remains unaffected by his guidance and teachings like some earlier prophets, no one has an excuse for not accepting Islam and no one has a chance to reject his nubuwwah. Therefore, the effect of his guidance was perfect and swift and people embraced the faith through various channels. The orators were fascinated by the eloquence of the Qur’an, while the intellectuals were convinced by his wise teaching methods. Those who were desirous of witnessing miracles brought iman after witnessing the same, while the brave and valiant warriors were unable to defeat him, and thus overpowered and became obedient. Thus, the object of his nubuwwah decreed by Allah was reached i.e. Islam spread across the world and dominates all false religions. However, this objective is only established through the principles of the Ahlus Sunnah and not the Shia. This is because the Ahlus Sunnah believe that those who embraced the faith in the presence of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam had perfect and complete iman, their belief in the nubuwwah of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was firmly entrenched in their hearts and they remained firm on this till death. If one has this belief, then he has accepted that Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam reached his objective. On the other hand, if it is believed that they were believers externally but disbelievers internally (May Allah forbid!) and they renounced their faith just at the death of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam then who can claim that Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam completed his mission?

The actuality is that the Shia belief regarding the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum actually questions the nubuwwah of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and causes doubt in the hearts of the unwary about Islam. If anyone believes that Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam had absolutely no effect whatsoever on the hearts of those who believed him and they were only outwardly believers but inwardly disbelievers who became apostate upon his death, then he will never acknowledge the nubuwwah of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and he would say that had Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam been a true Nabi, his guidance would at least had some effect and some would at least truly believe in him and out of the hundreds of thousands who accepted his message at least a few hundreds would remain steadfast. If according to your corrupt ideology, the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum did not have perfect iman then on whom did Rasulullah’s salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam guidance have effect? If all the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum besides a handful were hypocrites and renegades, then who accepted Islam and who benefitted from the teachings of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam? Who abandoned shirk and accepted towhid on the invitation of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam? Who learnt the methods of worship? Who perpetuated the religion of Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam? Who spread iman in the world then?

O friends! It is inappropriate for you to take his name and outwardly acknowledge his nubuwwah. If you had labelled a few hundreds or a few thousands of the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum as disbelievers or you had labelled those who became Muslim after Islam gained strength as hypocrites then maybe we could stomach it. But what a remorse, that you steep to such a low level to object to those who believed in the very beginning and label as hypocrites those who perpetuated the din of Allah and you do not regard anyone of the hundreds of thousands of people who believed Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam to be righteous except a meagre handful. Why should we not be stunned by such a corrupt belief and why should we not display remorse on such deviation?

 

Fourth Proof

We all – whether Sunni or Shia – reckon visiting Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam as the best fortune and the best forms of worship. And since Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam has passed on, we consider visiting his blessed grave and applying the sand of it on our eyes as a great fortune. If anyone has the fate of seeing Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam in a dream, we view him as a pious person. The reality is that as long as a person is not on a high level of piety and sincerity, he is not honoured with beholding the sight of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam in his dream. It is an act of great shame that we do not consider the piety and virtue of those who visited Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, remained day and night in his blessed company for many years, beheld his beloved countenance every moment and conversed with him. They not only accompanied him physically, but shared his moments of grief and happiness. They stood as a solid support in his mission to raise the banner of Islam:

از وطنہا مہاجرت کردند برالم ہا مصابرت کردند

در سفر ہم رکاب او بودند در حضر ہم خطاب او بودند

ہمہ آثار وحی دیدہ ازو ہمہاسرار دیں شنیدہ ازو

با نبی در شدائد و اہوال بذل ارواح کردہ و اموال

پایہ دیں بلند ازیں شاں شد کار شرع ارجمند ازیشاں شد

رضی اللہ عنہم از سوی حق بہر ایشاں بشارت مطلق

They emigrated from their homelands and displayed patience on adversity

They travelled with Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam abroad and conversed with him at home

They witnessed all the signs of revelation and learnt all the subtleties of din from him

They sacrificed their lives and wealth in times of difficulty and hardship for Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam

The banner of Islam flew high through their efforts and the din gained honour

Without any terms and conditions they were awarded with the glad tiding of Allah’s happiness

 

In short, seeing Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and staying in his company is such a lofty virtue which cannot be attained by any act of piety. Now when this is coupled with their inherent praiseworthy qualities and attributes then there can be no limit to their rank and status.

 

Fifth Proof

All Muslims are unanimous on the fact that Islam began and progressed in Makkah and Madinah and these are the two most sanctified places in the world. One has the house of Allah and is the birthplace of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, while the other is his city and place of rest. The foundation of Islam was built in Makkah and it progressed in Madinah. These places possess such sanctity that no false religion will prevail there even to such an extent that Dajjal — the accursed — will not be able to enter them. We should now reflect over the beliefs of the inhabitants of these cities regarding the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum. Their beliefs should be understood as the basis of iman. Through the grace of Allah, their belief which in fact is the belief of the entire Arabian Peninsula regarding the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum is well known. If we say that they are all astray and grounded on false belief — as according to the Shia — then the veracity of Islam is uncertain. Can one fathom that the birthplace and resting place of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam which possess honour like the ‘Arsh and Kursi of Allah, and which was the pivot of Islam; Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala abandoned their inhabitants to rot on their corrupt beliefs and left all those millions of people who were born there in the past thirteen centuries misguided and made them all die on misguidance and did not allow one believer to ever live there? And until this very day, Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala chooses to allow Makkah and Madinah to be filled with such corrupt people and this very deviation and misguidance is spread all over Arabia and notwithstanding the passing of all these centuries, no true believer — without Taqiyyah — is unable to go there and unable to express his iman for fear of his life and honour? Judgement Day is approaching and the days of this world are numbered yet Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala has still not yet purified His house and the resting place from these filthy people and made true believers inhabit them. May Allah forbid!

The more we move away from the era of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, the more Islam weakens, the more the Shia progress and their corrupt beliefs become more widespread. The Shia dominated and ruled many countries. Nonetheless, the religion which was prevalent in Makkah, Madinah and Arabia in the time of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is still going strong today.

 

ہست محفل براں قرار کہ بود ہست مطرب براں ترانہ کہ بود

The party is still vibrant like before

And the singers are singing the very same song

 

We are totally flabbergasted that in thirteen centuries not even one true believer was born and lived in Makkah and Madinah. Which city will house true believers then? If the Muslims leave the house of Allah and His rasul, then where should they live? Brothers! There is no alternative but to accept that the inhabitants of Makkah and Madinah follow the correct religion.

 

 

NEXT⇒ Reported Evidence Regarding the Virtues of the Sahabah – The virtues mentioned in the Torah and Injil