The Conception of the Sahaba's Ultimate Decency and the Political Authority in Islam

Part 1 — Chapter 1

1. the Lexical Meaning of Sahaba

A. in Lexicons

(As'hab, Sahaba, Sahibi, Yas'habu, Suhbeh, Sahabe.) According to the Arabic­Arabic dictionaries, these idioms mean to associate, to accompany, to sit with, to submit to, to accede to. (Sahib) means the associate, the submissive, the sitter with, the companion, the custodian or the keeper of a matter. This word (Sahib) is called on those who refer to a definite sect. It is said: The As'hab (followers) of Imam Ja'far, the As'hab of Abu­Haneefeh,.. etc.

B. in the Holy Quran

Allah, the Elevated, revealed the Quran in Arabic. One of the characteristics of Quran is being the only convictional reference of Arabic. It is the words of Allah, the knowing, dogmatically, of the most accurate hiddens and the deepest secrets of this language. By reading the Holy Quran, we discover that the words derived from the idiom involved are included in the following forms: (Tussahibeni, Sahibhuma, Sahibuhu, Sahibetihi, As'hab and As'habehum.) These forms were repeated ninety seven times in the Holy Quran.

The raised point is that there in no existence for the forms (Sahaba and Suhbe) in the Holy Quran.

By conjuring these words up, we find out that they are forming a perfect coverage of the entire lexical meaning previously referred to. This idiom may take a single face or aspect, or various faces and aspects. It may bear an ideal face representing the total rims of good and, in the same time, it may

bear a face so ugly that it represents the gross rims of evil.

D. Lexical Aspects of the Idiom

Suhbe may hint at relationship between two believers.[1]It may hint at relationship between a man and his parents who are opposing his belief.[2] It may hint at relationship between two companions in a journey.[3] It may hint at relationship between a master and his slave.[4] It may hint at relationship between a believer and a disbeliever.[5] It may hint at comprehensive relationship between an individual disbeliever and a group of disbelievers.[6]It may hint at relationship between a prophet and his disbelieving people who are aiming for pulling their prophet to the shed of evil.[7] It may be compulsory.[8] It may be a pursuing companionship that leads to an ill deed on which a general conduct is based.[9]It may be a matter of submitting to a divine doctrine and an absolute loyalty to the political leadership of that doctrine. An example on this sort of companionship is the Prophet's family's submission and loyalty to the divine doctrine and the Prophet's political leadership, along with their notable sacrifices. Another example is the Prophet's virtuous choicest companions' submission and loyalty to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family).

Pivot of companionship is comprehensive, based upon a doctrine, a leadership, goals and supreme idealities to the achievement of which the leader and his companions are working for submitting the whole society to the domination of that doctrine.[10]

[1] Surah Kahaf, Verse 26, and bn­Kutheir's Tafsir, part.3, page92­3. [2] Surah Luqman, Verse 15, and bn­Kutheir's Tafsir, part.3, page444. [3] Surah Nisa, Verse 36, and bn­Kutheir's Tafsir, part.1, page494. [4] Surah Tawba, Verse 40, and bn­Kutheir's Tafsir, part.2, page358. [5] Surah Kahaf, Verses 34 and 37, and bn­Kutheir's Tafsir, part.3, page83. [6] Surah Qamar, Verse 29, and bn­Kutheir's Tafsir, part.4, page265. [7] Surah Najm, Verse 2, and bn­Kutheir's Tafsir, part.3, page543. [8] Surah Saba, Verse 41, and bn­Kutheir's Tafsir, part.4, page246. [9] Surah Thariyat, Verse 59, and bn­Kutheir's Tafsir, part.2, page238. [10] The series of our essays published in Al­Liwa, the Jordanian journal, in 1992­3.

2. Terminological Meaning of Sahaba

The following are the words of bn­Hajar Al­Asqalani, the Shafi'ite:

“A Sahabi includes all those who met the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and believed in him till death.[11]

A. An Explanation of bn­Hajar's Definition

The following categories are registered under the title of Sahaba:

1. Those who met the Prophet for a considerable or a brief period.

2. Those who reported the Prophet's traditions and those who did not.

3. Those who participated in battles led by the Prophet and those who did not.

4. Those who saw the Prophet, even without a meeting.

5. Those who could not see the Prophet for an accidental obstacle; such as blindness.

The following are excluded from the list of Sahaba, for the bound of believing:

1. Those who met the Prophet while they were believing in other prophets; such as the faithful Scriptuaries before Mohammed's divine envoy.

2. Scriptuaries who met the Prophet and believed that that would be the anticipated prophet are probably included with the Sahaba. An example is Bahira, the priest and his likes.

3. Every mandate human being and jinn are included in bound of believing in the Prophet.

4. Ibnul­Atheer's objection on Abu­Musa's excluding some of the jinn mentioned in the list of the Sahaba is not unacceptable.

[11] bn­Hajar Al­Asqalani's Al­Isabetu Fi Tamyizis­Sahaba, page10.

5. bn­Hazm says: “They lied to the Islamic nations those who claim of unanimity. God, the Elevated, informed us that a group of jinn had believed and listened to the Quran recited by the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). Hence, they are Sahaba.”

6. Reckoning the angels with the Prophet's companions is a subject of discrepancy. As Fakhruddin Ar­Razi, in his Asrarur­Tenzil, reported the unanimous claim that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) had not been sent to the angels, a many scholars disagreed to him. Providing a number of arguments, Sheik Teqiyyuddin As­Sebki alleged that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) had been sent to the angels, too.

7. By bound of (believing till death), the apostates who denounced their disbelieving in the Prophet's divine message after they had met him, are excluded from the list of Sahaba. An example is Ubeidullah­bn­Jahsh. With his wife, Ummu­Habiba, he declared his being Muslim and immigrated to Abyssinia. Unfortunately, he embraced Christianity there till his death. Abdullah­bn­Khatl who was killed while he was hanging to curtains of Ka'ba is another example.

8. Muslims who defected their apostasy are reckoned with the Sahaba according to bound of (believing till death), even if they had never seen or met the Prophet. Regarding the earlier part of this category, there is unanimity on the ruling that apostates who return to Islam before their death are Sahaba, while some scholars had preservations against this class. Relying upon the hadithists' agreement on reckoning bn­Qeis, who returned to Islam in Abu­Bakr's reign after he had apostatized, with the Sahaba and recording his reports in the most remarkable books of hadith, the earlier preservations are not satisfactory.

B. bn­Hajar's Estimation of this Definition

bn­Hajar's definition is extracted from the most authentic opinions adopted by supreme scholars, such as Al­Bukhari and his tutor, Ahmed­bn­Hanbal and their followers. There are, however, many disorderly opinions appertained to identifying the Prophet's companions. Among these is the opinion that institutes four conditional qualifications of Sahaba. A Sahabi is only that who enjoyed a considerable period of companionship with the Prophet, and his reports, regarding the Prophet's traditions, were taken into account, and participated in the Prophet's battles or was martyred with him (peace be upon him and his family.) Others instituted maturity and sitting

with the Prophet as provisories of regarding companionship. A group named every single individual who had seen the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) as a Sahabi. Pursuant to the rule that capability of seeing cannot be imputed to the undiscerning, the previous opinion includes discerning individuals only. At any rate, those undiscerning individuals are Sahaba since they were seen by the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family.) Regarding those whose dead bodies had been seen by the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), like Abu­Thuweib Al­Hutheli, the poet, there is a discrepancy about reckoning them with the Sahaba. It is more acceptable to exclude them.

C. Means of Recognizing the Sahaba

Means of proving a Sahabi is a successive narration that is well publicized and well­known. In addition, there must be a report of a Sahabi respecting reckoning that individual with the Sahaba. A single Sahaba's follower's report depending upon a Sahabi's nomination is acceptably taken into consideration of being a Sahabi. Lastly, a decent man's declaration of being a Sahabi is considered.

Al­Amudi and others put decency as a provisory condition of admitting a Sahabi. Since the entire Sahaba are decent it is imperative to admit an individual's claim of being a Sahabi. Thus, a claim of being a Sahabi is measured in the very balance of claiming of decency. This is, however, unacceptable.

Coinciding in time of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) is an essential base of deciding a Sahabi. That time is limited by one hundred and ten years after the Prophet's immigration to Yathrib. On that account, the Imams disavowed claims after that period. A group of people were discredited in their claims of being Sahaba since their appearances proved forgery of their claims. Al­Amudi, however, decided inadmissibility of regarding such individuals as Sahaba.

D. The Entire People are Sahaba

Unanimously, Mohammed's advocacy resulted in establishing the state led by him for about a decade. During this period, he (peace be upon him and his family) planted regulations of the Islamic political system and clarified thoroughly the belief of Islam by applying the total hypotheses that led to propounding the general spirit of Islam.

Constitutionally, any government consists of people, a province on which those people settle and a power policing those people. Pursuant to bn­Hajar Al­Asqalani's definition of the Sahaba, the following two points are bases on which a Sahabi is considered:

1. Meeting the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) by associating, talking or viewing him. He whomever saw or was seen by the Prophet, including unweaned babies, is regarded as a Sahabi.

2. Believing in prophesy of Mohammed (peace be upon him and his family.)

Considering bn­Hajar's opinion, it is obligatory to scrutinize everyone's creed. This matter, still, is out of humans' capacity. Al­Asqalani should have discriminated between real and ostensive believing. Abdullah­bn­Ubey, for instance, is one of the Sahaba agreeingly. Yet, he is chief of the hypocrites. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) addressed at those who suggested that Abdullah would be crucially killed: “I swear we are to respect his accompanying us as long as he is among us.”[12] Abdullah­bn­Abi­Sarh, as another example, was the Prophet's registrar, but he forged lies against the Prophet who, as a penalization, legalized killing him whenever found even hanging to curtains of Ka'ba. At conquest of Mecca, Othman interceded to gain cancellation of that decision. Hence, that man embraced Islam for saving his soul. Such an individual is undiscussibly a Sahabi.[13] The same is said about Al­Hakam­bn­Al­Aas who had been banished by the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family.) After the Prophet's decease, the man asked Abu­Bakr and Omar respectively to annul the Prophet's decision. They rejected his demand. Othman, when became the caliph, allowed him to be in Al­Madina with full honor and dignity. As a compensation, he gifted him one hundred thousand dirham, as he was a Sahabi.[14]

Briefly, it is not a condition to regard the real believing in the Prophet's mission in consideration of the Prophet's companionship. It is acceptably sufficient to dissemble to be believing in him or keep such a pretense all the lifetime since the Prophet does not care for the hidden on any. Hiddens, however, is God's concern!

[12] bn­Sa'd's At­Tabaqat, part.2 page56, and our An­Nidhamus­Siyasi Fil­Islam page103. [13] bn­Quteibeh's Al­Me'arif, pages 131 and 141. [14] bn­Quteibeh's Al­Me'arig, pages 45 and 131, and our An­Nidhamus­Siyasi Fil­Islam page232 and on.

Totally, everybody had the opportunity to meet the Prophet through the solicitation, government, battles, declaration of fealty, ritual pilgrimage and Visitations, especially the Welfare Pilgrimage, and the complete domination of the Arab Peninsula. All of citizens of Mecca and At­Ta'if declared their being Muslims and witnessed the Farewell Pilgrimage with the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). that was in 10A.H. The same could be said about tribes of Aws and Khazraj. Hence, when the Prophet was dead, no single individual was showing disbelieving in his mission.[15] Babies, as their fathers used to take them to the Prophet for seeking blessing, became Sahaba according to the fact that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) had seen them. Reports appertained to this matter are many. (Babies were taken to the Prophet for seeking blessings.) (Whenever a baby was born, it would be taken to the Prophet.)[16]

The authentic reports regarding the Prophet’s being wont to walk in streets, during his leading the government he had established, without being accompanied by any guardian or the like, and wont to practice his activities himself, lead to the inevitable fact that every citizen in his state had full option to see, communicate and attend at any meeting he held. This means that the entire citizens could meet, see, hear and sit with their president.

The other Islamic sects agree with Sunnis on the lexical and terminological meanings of Sahaba. They differ with them on significance of qualifications of decency. While Sunnis generalize and unexceptionally decide the entire Sahaba as decent, the other sects figure certain justifiable prerequisites and topical qualifications for decency. Decency is imputed to those individuals who enjoy such prerequisites and qualifications only. Depending on evidences elicited from Book of God and the Prophet's traditions, they rule of those who do not enjoy such prerequisites and qualifications as indecent.

[15] bn­Hajar Al­Asqalani's Al­Isabetu Fi Tamyizis­Sahaba, page16. [16] bn­Hajar Al­Asqalani's Al­Isabetu Fi Tamyizis­Sahaba, page7.