Those Sahabah who were previously Jew or Christian

Among the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum were some who were previously Jews or Christians; Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala revealed regarding them:

لَيْسُوْا سَوَاءً ۗ مِّنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ أُمَّةٌ قَائِمَةٌ يَتْلُوْنَ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ وَهُمْ يَسْجُدُوْنَ يُؤْمِنُوْنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَيَأْمُرُوْنَ بِالْمَعْرُوْفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَيُسَارِعُوْنَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَأُولَٰئِكَ مِنَ الصَّالِحِيْنَ وَمَا يَفْعَلُوْا مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَلَنْ يُكْفَرُوْهُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيْمٌ بِالْمُتَّقِيْنَ

They are not [all] the same; among the People of the Scripture is a community standing [in obedience], reciting the verses of Allah during periods of the night and prostrating [in prayer]. They believe in Allah and the Last Day, and they enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and hasten to good deeds. And those are among the righteous. And whatever good they do, never will it be denied them. And Allah is Knowing of the righteous.[1]

It is established via countless commentators of the Qur’an that these verses were revealed regarding those who accepted Islam who, prior to that, were established religious authorities among the Jews and Christians, like Sayyidina ‘Abdullah ibn Salam, Sayyidina Usayd ibn ‘Ubaid, Sayyidina Tha’labah ibn Shu’bah, and others like them radiya Llahu ‘anhum. Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala attested to their righteousness and iman in Allah and the Last Day together with the other qualities of good.

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[1] Surah Al ‘Imran: 113-115.

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