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The '''sahabah''' (الصحابة; lit. "companions"; sing. ''sahabi'') were the companions of Prophet [[Muhammad]]. According to tradition, an individual must have: seen Muhammad, believed in his prophethood, and died as a believer in order to be considered a sahabi or companion of the Muhammad (and thereby attain the concomitant theological status).<ref name=":0">{{Citation|title=Encyclopaedia of Islam|publisher=E.J. Brill|volume=8 NED-SAM|editor1=C.E. Bosworth|editor2=E. van Donzel|editor3=W.P. Heinrichs|editor4=G. Lecomte|edition=New Edition [2nd]|location=Leiden|chapter=Sahaba|pages=827-829|publication-date=1995|isbn=90 04 09834 8}}</ref><ref name="Haddad">Sh. G. F. Haddad - [http://www.livingislam.org/n/shb_e.html Sahaba] - LivingIslam, January 7, 2009</ref> These would exclude, for example, Ubayd-Allah b. Jahsh (brother of [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Muhammads Wives and Concubines#Zainab_bint_Jash|Zainab b. Jash]], the cousin and wife of Muhammad),<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:72; {{Tabari|8|p. 4}}; {{Tabari|39|p. 180}}; cf Guillaume/Ishaq 3; Maududi (1967), Tafhimul Quran, Chapter Al Ahzab</ref> who was considered one of the sahabah but later converted to Christianity.<ref>Alfred Guillaume - [http://www.amazon.com/Life-Muhammad-Translation-Ishaqs-Sirat/dp/019636034X The Life of Muhammad] - Oxford University Press, 1955, reprinted in 2003. ISBN 0-19-636033-1</ref> Those that saw Muhammad but held off believing in him until after [[Muhammad's Death|his death]] are not considered Sahabah but rather [[Tabi'un|tabi'un (sucessors)]].<ref name="Haddad"></ref> In hadith attributed to Muhammad, he says that the sahabah are among the [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Islamic Theology#The_First_3_Generations_of_Muslims_are_the_Best_Muslims|best generation of Muslims]] on Earth, along with the [[Tabi'un|tabi‘un]] and the tabu' al-tabi'een (successors of the successors). These three generations (sahaba, tabi'un, and tabu' al-tabi'een are said to comprise the [[Salaf al-Salih (Pious Predecessors)|''salaf al-salah'', or "pious predecessors"]]. | The '''sahabah''' (الصحابة; lit. "companions"; sing. ''sahabi'') were the companions of Prophet [[Muhammad]]. According to tradition, an individual must have: seen Muhammad, believed in his prophethood, and died as a believer in order to be considered a sahabi or companion of the Muhammad (and thereby attain the concomitant theological status).<ref name=":0">{{Citation|title=Encyclopaedia of Islam|publisher=E.J. Brill|volume=8 NED-SAM|editor1=C.E. Bosworth|editor2=E. van Donzel|editor3=W.P. Heinrichs|editor4=G. Lecomte|edition=New Edition [2nd]|location=Leiden|chapter=Sahaba|pages=827-829|publication-date=1995|isbn=90 04 09834 8}}</ref><ref name="Haddad">Sh. G. F. Haddad - [http://www.livingislam.org/n/shb_e.html Sahaba] - LivingIslam, January 7, 2009</ref> These would exclude, for example, Ubayd-Allah b. Jahsh (brother of [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Muhammads Wives and Concubines#Zainab_bint_Jash|Zainab b. Jash]], the cousin and wife of Muhammad),<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:72; {{Tabari|8|p. 4}}; {{Tabari|39|p. 180}}; cf Guillaume/Ishaq 3; Maududi (1967), Tafhimul Quran, Chapter Al Ahzab</ref> who was considered one of the sahabah but later converted to Christianity.<ref>Alfred Guillaume - [http://www.amazon.com/Life-Muhammad-Translation-Ishaqs-Sirat/dp/019636034X The Life of Muhammad] - Oxford University Press, 1955, reprinted in 2003. ISBN 0-19-636033-1</ref> Those that saw Muhammad but held off believing in him until after [[Muhammad's Death|his death]] are not considered Sahabah but rather [[Tabi'un|tabi'un (sucessors)]].<ref name="Haddad"></ref> In hadith attributed to Muhammad, he says that the sahabah are among the [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Islamic Theology#The_First_3_Generations_of_Muslims_are_the_Best_Muslims|best generation of Muslims]] on Earth, along with the [[Tabi'un|tabi‘un]] and the tabu' al-tabi'een (successors of the successors). These three generations (sahaba, tabi'un, and tabu' al-tabi'een are said to comprise the [[Salaf al-Salih (Pious Predecessors)|''salaf al-salah'', or "pious predecessors"]]. | ||
All the [[Hadith|hadiths]], or narrations describing a sayings and doings of Muhammad, are attributed to Muhammad via a chain of narrators that always concludes with a companion of Muhammad, who is trusted to have witnessed the events described or words recounted in the narration and faithfully described them. Consequently, all of Islamic doctrine not directly derived from the Qur'an is traced back to one or a group of Muhammad's companions. Even the Qur'an itself is interpreted in light of narrations attributed to Muhammad's companions which attest to the [[Revelational Circumstances of the Qur'an|revelational circumstances]] of individual verses in the Qur'an (such narrations giving details on the meanings of the Qur'an comprise the earliest exegetical writings, or ''[[Tafsir|tafsirs]]''). While hadith reports are generally viewed with a degree of skepticism by modern historians, Islamic scholastics rely on the authenticity of the hadiths as a basis for most of Islamic thought, including interpretation of the Qur'an. This reliance on companions' reports raises belief in the integrity of the companions to the level of basic Islamic doctrine. The emergent argument ''ad absurdum'' is as follows: if the integrity of the companions may be doubted, all of Islam may be doubted (even, indeed, the Qur'an, which the companions transmitted) - and since [[Allah]] must leave believers with knowledge of Islam that is certain, it follows that the sources of this knowledge must be reliable. The [[Shi'ism|Shi'ite]] view is more nuanced, and allows the possibility of corrupted or unreliable companions, their judgement of character generally revolving around the companion-in-question's loyalty to [[Ali ibn Abi Talib|Ali]] (notably, for Shi'ites, [[Aisha]], [[Abu Bakr Abdullah ibn Uthman|Abu Bakr]], and [[Umar ibn Al-Khattab|Umar]] do not make the cut). | |||
Upon hearing or saying the name of a companion of Muhammad, Muslims are obliged to say ''radi Allahu anhu'' (lit. "Allah is pleased with him") - a practice inspired by a verse in the Qur'an.<ref>{{Quran|9|100}}</ref> | |||
==Descriptions in scripture== | ==Descriptions in scripture== | ||
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===Sunnism=== | ===Sunnism=== | ||
==== As transmitters of scripture ==== | ====As transmitters of scripture==== | ||
====Qawl al-sahabi (saying of a companion)==== | ====Qawl al-sahabi (saying of a companion)==== | ||
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==Requirements== | ==Requirements== | ||
==Prominent companions== | ==Prominent companions== | ||
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====Abu Bakr Abdullah b. Uthman==== | ====Abu Bakr Abdullah b. Uthman==== | ||
{{Main|Abu Bakr Abdullah ibn Uthman}} | |||
====Umar b. al-Khattab==== | ====Umar b. al-Khattab==== | ||
{{Main|Umar ibn Al-Khattab}} | |||
====Uthman b. Affan==== | ====Uthman b. Affan==== | ||
{{Main|Uthman ibn Affan}} | |||
====Ali b. Abi Talib==== | ====Ali b. Abi Talib==== | ||
{{Main|Ali ibn Abi Talib}} | |||
===Wives of Muhammad=== | ===Wives of Muhammad=== | ||
====Aisha b. Abi Bakr==== | ====Aisha b. Abi Bakr==== | ||
{{Main|Aisha bint Abi Bakr}} | |||
====Khadijah b. Khuwaylid==== | ====Khadijah b. Khuwaylid==== | ||
{{Main|Khadijah bint Khuwaylid}} | |||
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||