Sahaba - The Blessed

wa sallam’ stated: “Allâhu ta’âlâ chose me from among the entire
humanity. And He chose the best people and made them Ashâb
(Companions) to me. And from among them He chose the highest
ones and made them my relatives and assistants. If a person
respects them because he loves me, Allâhu ta’âlâ will protect him
against all sorts of danger. Those who hurt me by insulting them,
however, will get their come-uppance from Him.” Abdullah ibn
Abbâs ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhumâ’ relates: Rasûlullah ‘sall-
Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ stated: “May those who slander and curse
my Ashâb be accursed in the view of Allâhu ta’âlâ, in the view of
all the angels and human beings!” Another hadîth-i-sherîf
reported on the authority of Âisha-i-siddîqa ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhâ’
states: “The worst people among my Umma are those who dare to
speak ill of my Ashâb.”
It must be known that the wars among the Ashâb-i-kirâm
‘alaihim-ur-ridwân’ were based on benevolent motives and
thoughts and not on worldly interests and advantages. For, the
differences among them were differences of ijtihâd and
interpretation. They were not differences originating from
sensuous desires and ambitions. The scholars of (the right way
termed) Ahl as-sunnat agree on this. Only, those who fought
against Hadrat Amîr ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ were wrong (in their
ijtihâd). Hadrat Amîr (Alî) ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was right.
However, since their mistake was a matter of ijtihâd, they cannot
be blamed or criticized. As the book Sharh-i-mawâqif reports from
Âmidî, the events (wars) of Jamal (Camel) and Siffîn arose from
(differences of) ijtihâd. According to a quotation from Abû
Shakûr Muhammad Sulamî in the book Tamhid, the scholars of
Ahl as-sunnat wa-l-jamâ’at agree on that Hadrat Mu’âwiya and his
allies ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhum’ were wrong. Yet their mistake was a
result of ijtihâd. Ibn Hajar Makkî states as follows in his book
Sawâiq-i-Muhriqa: The war between Hadrat Mu’âwiya and
Hadrat Amîr ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’ was based on ijtihâd.
Scholars of Ahl as-sunnat state so. Who are meant by the
expression ‘our ashâb’ in the statement, “The so-called wars
(among the Ashâb) were not based on ijtihâd according to the
majority of our ashâb,” in the book Sharh-i-mawâqif? Scholars of
Ahl as-sunnat do not say so. They say to the contrary. All the
books written by the greatest Islamic authorities state that
mistaken conclusions of ijtihâd were involved in the events. Imâm
Ghazâlî, Qâdî Abû Bakr and other Islamic scholars share the same
knowledge concerning this fact. Therefore, it is not permissible to
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