Degrees of the Companions

When the last illness of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) became more intense, he was not able to lead the people in prayer, so he ordered those who were with him to tell Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) to lead the prayer. Abu Bakr used to weep much whenever he recited the Qur’an, so ‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) made an excuse for him on account of his weeping. However, in the Hadīth mentioned here, her real intention was not that Abu Bakr should not lead the prayer because of his weeping while reciting the Qur'an; rather, she feared that people would regard her father, Abu Bakr, as a bad omen for taking the place of the Prophet in leading the prayer (i.e. heralding his imminent death). So she did not show what she was hiding in her heart. In a narration in Sahīh Muslim, ‘Ā'ishah said: "By Allah, there is nothing disturbing in it for me but the idea that people may see a bad omen in the first person to take the place of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him)." She said: "I tried to dissuade him twice or thrice (from appointing my father as Imām in prayer), but he ordered Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer and said: 'You women are like the women who surrounded Yūsuf.'" He intended by saying "the women who surrounded Yūsuf" that they are like those women in the story of Prophet Yūsuf in showing outwardly what was contrary to what is in their hearts. Although he used the plural form, he intended only one woman, which is ‘Ā'ishah, just as he intended by saying "those women who surrounded Yūsuf" only one woman, which is Zulaykha, wife of the ruler of Egypt at the time of Yūsuf. The aspect of similarity between the two women is that Zulaykha invited the women and outwardly showed them hospitality, but her inward intention behind inviting them was to make them look at the beauty of Yūsuf so that they would excuse her for loving him. Likewise, ‘Ā'ishah outwardly expressed that the reason she wanted her father to be exempted from leading the prayer was that the worshipers would not hear his recitation of the Qur’an because of his weeping, whereas her real intention was her fear that people would find a bad omen in him, as explicitly mentioned in other narrations of the Hadīth, where she said: "... the only reason that I argued with him (about this matter) was that I did not feel in my heart that after him (the Prophet) the people would ever love a man who had taken his place.”

رياض الصالحين من كلام سيد المرسلين؛ للإمام أبي زكريا النووي، تحقيق د. ماهر الفحل، دار ابن كثير-دمشق، الطبعة الأولى، 1428ه. - بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين؛ تأليف سليم الهلالي، دار ابن الجوزي- الطبعة الأولى1418ه. - نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين؛ تأليف د. مصطفى الخِن وغيره، مؤسسة الرسالة-بيروت، الطبعة الرابعة عشر، 1407هـ. - صحيح البخاري عناية محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة، الطبعة الأولى، 1422هـ. - صحيح مسلم؛ حققه ورقمه محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار عالم الكتب-الرياض، الطبعة الأولى، 1417هـ. نيل الأوطار- محمد بن علي الشوكاني -تحقيق: عصام الدين الصبابطي- دار الحديث، مصر- الطبعة: الأولى، 1413هـ - 1993م.

‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) gave each of the Muhājirūn four thousand dirhams. His son was also from the Muhājirūn, but he gave him three thousand five hundred dirhams only, because it was his father, ‘Umar, who took him along with him when he emigrated and he had not yet reached puberty at the time. For this reason he did not treat him in the same way he treated the adult Muslims who emigrated by themselves. Indeed, the world have not known after the time of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and Abu Bakr As-Siddīq a ruler who was as ascetic and pious regarding the wealth of the Muslims as ‘Umar. This is the duty of any person who is in charge of the affairs of the Muslims; he must not show favoritism to his relatives, nor to a rich person because of his wealth, or a poor because of his poverty. Rather, he should treat each person properly, as this is a form of piety and justice.

بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين؛ تأليف سليم الهلالي، دار ابن الجوزي. تطريز رياض الصالحين؛ تأليف فيصل آل مبارك، تحقيق د. عبدالعزيز آل حمد، دار العاصمة-الرياض، الطبعة الأولى، 1423هـ. رياض الصالحين من كلام سيد المرسلين؛ للإمام أبي زكريا النووي، تحقيق د. ماهر الفحل، دار ابن كثير-دمشق، الطبعة الأولى، 1428هـ. شرح رياض الصالحين؛ للشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين، مدار الوطن-الرياض، 1426هـ. صحيح البخاري –الجامع الصحيح-؛ للإمام أبي عبدالله محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري، عناية محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة، الطبعة الأولى، 1422هـ. فتح الباري بشرح صحيح البخاري؛ للحافظ أحمد بن علي بن حجر العسقلاني، دار المعرفة-بيروت. كشف المشكل من حديث الصحيحين؛ لأبي الفرج ابن الجوزي، تحقيق د. علي البواب، دار الوطن-الرياض. كنوز رياض الصالحين؛ فريق علمي برئاسة أ.د. حمد العمار، دار كنوز إشبيليا-الرياض، الطبعة الأولى، 1430هـ. نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين؛ تأليف د. مصطفى الخِن وغيره، مؤسسة الرسالة-بيروت، الطبعة الرابعة عشر، 1407هـ.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that anyone who attended the Battle of Badr, which took place in the second year of Hijrah, fighting alongside the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), or attended the Treaty of Hudaybiyah, which included the Pledge of Ridwān in the sixth year of Hijrah, will not enter Hellfire.

1. It reflects the merit of those who participated in Badr and Hudaybiyah, as they will not enter Hellfire.
2. Highlighting the fact that Allah Almighty absolves them of injustices, grants them the guidance to die upon faith, and admits them into Paradise without first being punished by the Fire. Such is the bounty of Allah, which He bestows upon whom He wills, and Allah is the Possessor of great bounty.

صحيح مسلم (4/ 1942) (2495) . مسند أحمد (23/ 410) (15262). المصباح المنير في غريب الشرح الكبير، لأحمد الفيومي (1/ 123). فيض القدير شرح الجامع الصغير، للمناوي (5/ 302). المنهاج شرح صحيح مسلم بن الحجاج، للنووي (16/ 57).

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that Abu Bakr as-Siddīq and ‘Umar al-Fārūq (may Allah be pleased with both of them) are the best of mankind after the prophets and the best of those who are admitted to Paradise after the prophets and messengers.

1. Abu Bakr and ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with both of them) are the best people after the prophets and messengers.
2. There is no old person in Paradise; rather, whoever is admitted therein will be at the age of thirty-three. What is meant here is that they are the masters of those who died in this world from the elderly, or that this is based on what they were in this world at the time of this Hadīth.

سنن الترمذي (6/ 45) (3664). تحفة الأحوذي بشرح جامع الترمذي، لمحمد المباركفوري (10/ 103).

Every nation has an extremely trustworthy man known for his honesty more than others. The person who is most well-known for his honesty and trustworthiness in the Muslim nation is Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrāh (may Allah be pleased with him). Although honesty is a common characteristic of all the Companions (may Allah be pleased with him) yet the context of the Hadīth shows that Abu ‘Ubaydah has a higher level of trustworthiness than others.

صحيح البخاري، محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري الجعفي، تحقيق: محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة (مصورة عن السلطانية بإضافة ترقيم: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي)، الطبعة: الأولى 1422هـ. صحيح مسلم، مسلم بن الحجاج القشيري النيسابوري، تحقيق محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار إحياء التراث العربي، بيروت، الطبعة: 1423هـ. منار القاري شرح مختصر صحيح البخاري، حمزة محمد قاسم، راجعه: عبد القادر الأرناؤوط، عني بتصحيحه ونشره: بشير محمد عيون، الناشر: مكتبة دار البيان، دمشق، مكتبة المؤيد، الطائف، عام النشر: 1410هـ، 1990م.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was wearing two coats of iron mail to protect himself from the enemies' stabbings in the battle of Uhud. Then, he turned towards a boulder to climb on it, but he could not. So Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) came and sat under the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) helping him climb and settle over the boulder. Upon this, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It (Paradise) is obligatory for Talhah", It means that Talhah guaranteed himself Paradise by what he had done on this day, and he deserves it.

سنن الترمذي، محمد بن عيسى الترمذي، تحقيق وتعليق: أحمد محمد شاكر، ومحمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، وإبراهيم عطوة عوض، شركة مكتبة ومطبعة مصطفى البابي الحلبي، مصر، الطبعة: الثانية، 1395هـ- 1975م. مسند الإمام أحمد بن حنبل، أحمد بن حنبل أبو عبدالله الشيباني، تحقيق: شعيب الأرنؤوط و عادل مرشد، وآخرون، تحت إشراف: عبد الله بن عبد المحسن التركي، مؤسسة الرسالة، الطبعة: الأولى 1421هـ، 2001م. سلسلة الأحاديث الصحيحة وشيء من فقهها وفوائدها، محمد ناصر الدين الألباني، مكتبة المعارف للنشر والتوزيع، الرياض، الطبعة الأولى لمكتبة المعارف، 1422هـ. معجم اللغة العربية المعاصرة، أحمد مختار عبد الحميد عمر بمساعدة فريق عمل، الناشر: عالم الكتب، الطبعة: الأولى 1429هـ، 2008م. تحفة الأحوذي بشرح جامع الترمذي، محمد عبد الرحمن بن عبد الرحيم المباركفورى، دار الكتب العلمية، بيروت.