Collection Of Articles (Refuting Shia) - Enjoy Islam

Al Walaa' wa'l Baraa' - The Views Of Ahlus-Sunnah Towards The Sahabah
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The Best Of People
And they are the best people, to which the Prophet ( ) referred to in the Hadith: "The best of my
people are my generation then those who come after them, then those who come after them,
then there will come a people in whom there will be no good." [At-Tabaranee, authenticated by
al-Albanee]
Also, in al-Bukharee, "The best of the people are my generation, then those after them, then
those after them..." This is also reported by Muslim, Abu Dawood, at-Tirmidhee, An-Nasa'ee and
others.
The Prophet ( ) also said, "...and my Ummah will divide into seventy-three sects." [Abu
Dawood, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Majah, al-Hakim, Ahmad, authenticated by at-Tirmidhee, al Hakim, ibn
Taymeeyah, as-Suyootee, al-Manawee, ash-Shatibee, adh-Dhahabee and al-Albanee].
In another Hadith that is hasan, the Prophet ( ) explained which one is the saved sect: "Al-
Jama'ah" [Ibn Majah]. In another Hasan Hadith the Prophet ( ) said, "The tribes of Israel broke
into seventy- two sects. My Ummah shall break up into seventy-three sects. All of them will
be in the Fire, except one: the one on which I am upon, and my Companions." [At-Tirmidhee]
Following Their Footsteps
All this should suffice as evidence that the correct understanding of Islam is that of the first three
generations and all those that follow their path, in truth. There is no disagreement among Muslim
scholars that the best generations of Islam are to be followed, that the interpretation of the Qur'an
and Sunnah they agreed upon is regarded as the correct one, and that we are to approach the Deen
in the manner they approached it. We are obliged to follow them, and that means, first and foremost,
to have the same creed as they did, no deviations, no additions and no deletions.
We also have to approach `ibadah (worship in obedience to Allah) in the same way, no
innovations, no additions and no deletions. We take all of the Sunnah and refer all disagreements to
Allah and His Messenger, as Allah (s.w.t.) commanded us in the Qur'an [4:59].
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
• Practicing Jihad for the Sake of Allah
Also, the Sahaba presented every action according to the scales of the Sharee`ah, 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, they realized that
they could not thank Allah enough and they stayed away from the sinful and their gatherings. Allah,
The Exalted, most appropriately describes them:
"Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him (the Companions) are
http://islamicweb.com/beliefs/creed/sahabah_view.htm
1/28/2005