Sahaba - The Blessed

sallam’, stated, “Fear Allâhu ta’âlâ if you should say anything
about my Ashâb!” He repeated this statement several times in
order to stress its importance. At another occasion he stated,
“Each of my Ashâb is like a star in the sky. If you follow any one
of them, you will attain salvation.” There is a great number of
hadîth-i-sherîfs emphasizing the value, the greatness and the
highness of each Sahâbî. Then, we should hold all of them as
valuable and exalted people, and we should know that all their
actions, including those which appear to be mistakes, were the
fruits of beautiful intentions. This is the Madhhab of Ahl assunnat.
Some people have overstepped the bounds of moderacy in this
matter. They say that those who fought against Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu
’anh’ were disbelievers. They do not feel shame at hurling the
bitterest invectives at the greatest religious leaders. If their
purpose were to state that Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ had been
right and the other party had been mistaken, following the way led
by the Ahl as-sunnat would suffice for that purpose. They would
not have to curse or castigate those great paragons of the religion,
which is quite incompatible with Islam. Indeed, the course these
people have been pursuing in the name of religion appears to
consist in cursing the Ashâb-i-kirâm, the blessed Companions of
our master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, which is
sheer irreligiousness. What kind of a religion can something be if
its basic act of worship is to swear at our Prophet’s ‘sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sallam’ Khalîfas? Throughout long centuries, several
people in the world have fabricated various falsities and swerved
from the right way by adhering to heresies. Of all those heretics,
no group have equalled Shiites and Khârijîs in their race to get
away from Islam. What share from the right way could be
considered due to people whose credo is based on a systematic
vituperation of Islam’s spiritual élite? This group consists of twelve
sub-groups; all of them hold the belief and say that the Ashâb-ikirâm
‘alaihim-ur-ridwân’ were disbelievers. They mention them
with the most offensive and slanderous language. They deem it as
an act of worship to curse three of the four Khalîfas. When they
learn the hadîth-i-sherîfs admonishing about the torment that will
be inflicted on such people in Hell, they think that others are
meant by such people. Would they know the consequence of the
course they have been following and ceased from their attitude;
how beautiful it would be if they desisted from their animus
towards our master the Prophet’s ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’
– 44 –