SAHABA- COMPANIONS OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD

Sahabi is someone who saw or met Prophet Muhammad (May Allah honour Him and grant Him peace) and believed in him as well as died as a Muslim. Those that saw him but held off believing in him until after his passing are not considered Sahaba but Tabaeen. Sahabi is used to refer a single companion of Prophet and the word Sahaba is used for plural ie, more than one companion of Prophet.

Types of Sahaba-

1. As Sabiqoon Al Awaloon:The People,who became Muslim before Badr are called As Sabiqoon Al Awaloon. They are further categorized as
a) Muhajreen: Those who immigrated from Makkah.
b) Ansar: These includes those inhabitants of Madina, who Helped Prophet Muhammad (May Allah honour Him and grant Him peace) and muhajreen on their arrival to Madina after migrating from Makkah.

2. Major Sahabah:The people who were Muslims before victory of Makkah and Participated in most of the wars with Prophet Muhammad (May Allah honour Him and grant Him peace).

3. As'habuttulaqa: Those who accepted Islam after victory of Makkah comes under As'habuttulaqa.

Sahaba are considered as best of the Ummah, followed by Tabaeen and Taba tabaeen. It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not revile my companions, for by the One in Whose hand is my soul, if one of you were to spend the equivalent of Uhud in gold, it would not amount to a mudd of one of them, or half of that.”

Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: Allaah looked into the hearts of His slaves, and He saw that the heart of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was the best of people’s hearts, so He chose him for Himself and sent him with His message. Then He looked into the hearts of His slaves after the heart of Muhammad, and He found that the hearts of his companions were the best of people’s hearts, so He made them the supporters of His Prophet, who fought for His religion.

The Companions of the Messenger of Allah, prayers and peace upon him, stuck firmly to the book of Allah, the Most High, and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, prayers and peace upon him. They stuck firmly to his sunnah, prayers and peace upon him, in the affairs of belief, in the affairs of worship, and in dealing with one another.

To follow the Sahaba does not only mean to have the same understanding of the prescripts of belief as they did. That belief must be manifested in our actions and to follow the Sahaba also means to possess their other characteristics, some of which have been identified by our scholars as:
The full acceptance of the Revelation
The deep influence of the faith and the revelation on one's life
The application of this knowledge to the individual and collective life
Inviting others to do good deeds
Enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong
Giving advice to every Muslim

The Sahaba presented every action according to the scales of the Sharee`ah (Islamic Law), they used to remember and think a lot about death, they were forgiving to those who wronged them in any way, they had a great respect for the honour of other Muslims, for whom they desired only good, they were mindful of their prayers, they used to put the Hereafter before this Dunya (world), they realized that they could not thank Allah enough and they stayed away from the sinful and their gatherings. Allah (Glory be to Him), The Exalted, most appropriately describes them: "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him (the Companions) are severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and falling down prostrate (in prayer), seeking Bounty from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure. The mark of them (i.e. of their faith) is no their faces (foreheads) from the traces of (their) prostration (during prayers)."