مُّحَمَّدٌ رَّ‌سُولُ اللَّـهِ (Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah...48:29). The general style of the Qur'an is that, instead of referring to the Holy Prophet ﷺ by his name, he is normally called by one or another of his characteristic or attributive names especially in vocative cases, as for example, ya ayyuhan-nabiyyu, ya ayyuhar-rasulu, ya ayyuhal-muzzammilu and so on, unlike other prophets who are addressed by their personal names, as for instance, ya ibrahimu, ya musa, ya ` isa. The Holy Prophet ﷺ is addressed four times only in the entire Qur'an by his personal name Muhammad. This is done only where there is a special reason for it. Here the reason is that when at Hudaibiyah, the Peace Treaty was being written, the unbelievers had objected to the use of the characteristic or attributive name [ rasulul-lah ] with the personal name of the Messenger of Allah. The pagan Quraish wiped off Muhammad rasul-ul-lah, and insisted that it be replaced with Muhammad Ibn ` Abdullah. By the command of Allah, the Messenger accepted it. However, Allah on this occasion, in the Qur'an, especially attached the characteristic phrase rasulul-lah [ Messenger of Allah ] to his personal name [ Muhammad ] and thus entrenched it permanently in His Last Book, the Holy Qur'an, so that it will be written and recited like that until the Judgment Day.

وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ‌ رُ‌حَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ ۖ تَرَ‌اهُمْ رُ‌كَّعًا سُجَّدًا يَبْتَغُونَ فَضْلًا مِّنَ اللَّـهِ وَرِ‌ضْوَانًا those who are with him are hard against the disbelievers, compassionate among themselves; you will see them bowing down in ruku', prostrating in sajdah, seeking bounty from Allah and (His) good pleasure;.... 48:29). From this point onwards the merits of the noble Companions ؓ of the Holy Prophet ﷺ are described. Although the immediate addressees of the verse are the noble participants of Hudaibiyah and bai` at-ur-Ridwan. But on account of the generality of words, all blessed Companions ؓ are included in the description, because a sahabi or Companion is one who embraced Islam, saw the Holy Prophet ﷺ and accompanied him, even for a short time.

The Qualities, Merits and Special Marks of the Noble Companions ؓ

Allah Ta` ala, on this occasion, describes the messenger-ship of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، and makes a prophecy to the effect that not only would Islam prevail in Arabia, but would also eventually triumph over all other religions. In addition, He has described the qualities, the merits and the special marks of the noble Companions ؓ . The severe test which they had to undergo at the time of the Treaty of Hudaibiyah has also been described. The passage describes that they never wavered from the path of rectitude despite the fact that the Treaty was against their firm belief and heart-felt emotions, and despite the fact that they could not enter the sacred Mosque, and had to return without performing ` Umrah. In these unfavourable circumstances, they displayed an unusual obedience of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and their strength of faith. The blessed Companions ؓ have been described here fully, because the Holy Prophet ﷺ is the Final Messenger and there shall be no prophet or messenger after him. He left behind him the Book of Allah and the paradigm of noble Companions ؓ to follow. Specific injunctions have been laid down to emulate their pattern of life. Therefore, the Qur'an too describes the merits of the blessed Companions ؓ ، and encourages and emphasizes to follow their model of life.

The first quality of the Companions ؓ mentioned here is that they are hard against the unbelievers, and merciful to one another. It was proven time and again that they were harsh against the unbelievers. They sacrificed all their ethnic and tribal relations for the sake of Islam. This was especially demonstrated on the occasion of Hudaibiyah. The tenderness of the blessed Companions was especially demonstrated when Islamic brotherhood [ mu` akhat ] was created between muhajirs [ emigrants from Makkah ] and ansar [ helpers from Madinah ]. Ansar invited the muhajirin to share with them in their holdings. The Qur'an describes this quality of the blessed Companions ؓ first, because nothing they practiced - whether friendship or enmity, love or hatred - was for any selfish reasons. Everything was for the sake of Allah and His Messenger - and this is the highest degree of perfect faith. In a Hadith recorded by Bukhari, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has said,

مَن آحبّ اللہ و ابغض للہ فقد استکمل ایمانہ

"He who loves for the sake of Allah and hates for the sake of Allah has attained the highest degree of faith."

This means that anyone who has subjugated his friendship, love, hatred and enmity under the Will of Allah has perfected his faith. This clarifies another point: The Companions' being hard against the unbelievers does not imply that they were never tender towards any non-believer. In fact it means that where Allah and His Messenger enjoins them to be hard against the non-believers, they would simply comply without taking into account the relations of kinship or friendship. As far as kind and equitable dealing with them is concerned, the Qur'an itself promulgates:

لَّا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّـهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِ‌جُوكُم مِّن دِيَارِ‌كُمْ

"Allah does not forbid you from those who did not fight you on account of faith, and did not expel you from your homes, that you do good to them, and deal justly with them." (60:8).

There is a large number of incidents where Allah's Messenger ﷺ and the blessed Companions ؓ displayed their kindness and compassion to the helpless and needy unbelievers. Treating them with justice and equity is the general injunction of Islam. No activity flouting justice and equity is permissible even in the field of pitched battle.

The second quality of the blessed Companions ؓ is that they are generally preoccupied with bowing and prostrating. The first quality is the mark of their perfection in faith and the second quality is the mark of their perfection in deeds, because salah is the most meritorious of all the good deeds.

سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِم مِّنْ أَثَرِ‌ السُّجُودِ (their distinguishing feature is on their faces from the effect of sajdah (prostration)....48:29). That is to say, salah has become such a permanent routine of their life that the special effects of salah and sajdah are evident on their faces. These distinguishing features do not necessarily refer to any physical sign on the forehead on account of constant prostration. This in fact refers to the light and brightness that is reflected naturally on the faces of the devout as a result of humility, meekness and gentleness of disposition. Particularly this is one of the effects that follow from offering tahajjud salah regularly. It is recorded in Ibn Majah on the authority of Syyidna Jabir ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ has said,

من کثر صلوٰتہ بالّیل حسن وجھہ بالنّھار

"He who offers his salah abundantly at night, his face looks good during the day."

Hadrat Hasan Basri (رح) has said that the "features" in the verse refer to the light that the faces of those who pray will emit on the Day of Judgement.

ذَٰلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَ‌اةِ ۚ وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الْإِنجِيلِ كَزَرْ‌عٍ أَخْرَ‌جَ شَطْأَهُ فَآزَرَ‌هُ فَاسْتَغْلَظَ فَاسْتَوَىٰ عَلَىٰ سُوقِهِ يُعْجِبُ الزُّرَّ‌اعَ لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ‌ ۗ وَعَدَ اللَّـهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ مِنْهُم مَّغْفِرَ‌ةً وَأَجْرً‌ا عَظِيمًا

(This is their description in the Torah; and their description in the Injil is: like a sown crop that brings forth its shoot, then makes it strong, then it grows thick and stands straight on its stem, looking good to the farmers, so that He may enrage the disbelievers through them. Allah has promised forgiveness and a huge reward to those of them who believe and do good deeds.... 48:29)

This part of the verse states the description of the noble Companions ؓ given above about the light of their prostration and prayers on their forehead is the same description as was given in the Torah for the Companions of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ،. And another parable of them is put in the Gospel [ injil ]: When a farmer sows a seed in his field, it grows over a period of time - especially so that it changes from its original form into a form which is at first weak like a thin needle, then it develops into branches getting stronger, larger and more complicated. Eventually when it is fully grown, it is the strongest of shrubs and becomes a tree. Likewise the Companions ؓ of the Holy Prophet ﷺ in the beginning were very few. At one time, besides the Holy Prophet ﷺ there were only three Muslims: Among men, Sayyidna Abu Bakr As-Siddiq ؓ ; among women, Sayyidah Khadijah ؓ ; and among children, Sayyidna ` Ali ؓ . Gradually, but progressively, the strength of the Muslims continued to grow, so much so that the number of the noble Companions who performed the farewell pilgrimage with the Holy Prophet ﷺ is said to be about One hundred and fifty thousand (150, 000).

There are three possibilities in this verse: First, the grammatical pause be observed at فِي التَّوْرَ‌اةِ fit-tawrah in which case it will mean that the previous likeness, that is, the light of the faces is described in the Torah. In this case, a grammatical pause would not be observed at fil-injil, but one should proceed without stopping, and it will mean that the parable of the noble Companions in the Gospel is like a field or tree which at the beginning is very weak but gradually it grows strong.

The second possibility is that the pause be observed at فِي الْإِنجِيلِ fil-injil rather than at فِی التَّورَاتِہ fit-tawrah, in which case the meaning would be that the description of the light of their faces is found both in Torah and the Gospel, as here in the Qur'an. Then كَزَرْ‌عٍ ka-zar-'in "like a sown crop" may be treated as a separate parable.

The third possibility is that the statement does not end at fit-tawrah nor at fil injil. In this case dhalika, the demonstrative pronoun, would point to the next parable, and it would mean that the description of the Companions ؓ is given in both the Torah and the Gospel "like a sown crop". If the Torah and the Gospel had been intact in their original form, we could have compared the parables as given in those books with those given here in the Qur'an and determined its exact meaning. However, the present-day Torah and the Gospel have been subjected to many alterations and distortions. Therefore, its true import cannot be determined with any degree of certainty. Nevertheless, most -commentators prefer the first possibility according to which the first description is found in the Torah and the second parable is found in the Gospel. Imam Baghawi says that this description of the noble Companions ؓ is found in the Gospel in the following way: At the beginning they will be few in number, then the number will grow and become strong. Qatadah quotes from the Injil as follows: "Such a people will emerge who will grow like a crop; they will enjoin good works and forbid evil works" (Mazhari). Despite changes in the present-day Torah and Gospel, the following prophecy is found:

"He said: The Lord came from Mount Sinai; and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them. Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words." [ Deut. 33:2]

As pointed out earlier, at the time of the conquest of Makkah there were 10, 000 Companions ؓ who entered the City of Khalil Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) (Makkah) with the embodiment of light [ Prophet Muhammad ﷺ ] whose advent was from the mount Paran (in which the Cave of Hira' is situated). The expression "in his hand will be a fiery sacrosanct law [ Shari` ah ] " probably refers to أَشِدَّاءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ‌ "hard against the unbelievers". The expression "he will love his people" is understood to refer رُ‌حَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ "compassionate to one another". The details are set out together with other references in a work Izhar-ul-liaq, Vol. 3/chap.6: p.256. This book was written by Maulana Rahmatullah Kairanwi against the Priest Fonder. In this book, the parable of Injil is qouted as follows:

Another parable put forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. [ Matthew 13:31-32]

The following passage is quoted from Mark 4:26 in Izhar-ul-haq, Vol 3/chap 6:p. 310:

And he said, so is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. (Mark 4: 27-29) ()

(). These quotations are taken from King James Version of the Bible.

The expression "kingdom of heaven" on various occasions in the Gospel seems to refer to the Final Messenger. Allah knows best!

لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ‌ (...so that He may enrage the disbelievers through them...48:29). That is, Allah has characterized the blessed Companions ؓ by some noble qualities. He made them strong after being weak and multiplied them into large numbers after being small in numbers. Seeing the growth and expansion of Islam and Muslims, the unbelievers became furious and any towards them, and envious of them, burning in the fire of jealousy. Abu ` Urwah Zubairi says he was sitting in one of the sessions of Imam Malik when a person uttered a belittling statement against the blessed Companions ؓ . The Imam recited this entire verse. When he came to the clause "so that He may enrage the disbelievers through them. [ 29] ", he said this warning will apply to anyone who belittles the blessed Companions (Qurtubi). The Imam did not say that such a person would become kafir, however he said that the warning applies to such a person. It means that the conduct of such a person will be like that of unbelievers.

وَعَدَ اللَّـهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ مِنْهُم مَّغْفِرَ‌ةً وَأَجْرً‌ا عَظِيمًا (Allah has promised forgiveness and a huge reward to those of them who believe and do good deeds...48:29). The preposition min in the prepositional phrase min-hum is by consensus of Qur'anic scholarly opinion an explicative or min lil-bayan or tabyin. Therefore, it means that it is Allah's promise to those Muslims who are selfless in faith and strong in character that He will forgive them and give them a great reward. The preposition min serves to make clear and explains that all the blessed Companions ؓ without any exception - believe and do deeds of righteousness. The second point this verse clarifies is that Allah has promised them all without any exception forgiveness and a mighty reward. Min lil-bayan or tabyin is frequently used in the Qur'an. For example, the command in [ 22:30] فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّ‌جْسَ مِنَ الْأَوْثَانِ وَاجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ‌ "So, refrain from the filth of the idols and refrain from a word of falsehood" (22:30). In this clause, the preposition min explicates the obscure noun رِّ‌جْسَ rijs as referring to the "idols". Likewise the prepositional phrase min-hum here is explicative of "those who believe". Rawafid, however, treat the preposition min as partitive denoting a part as distinct from the whole - meaning the promise of forgiveness and mighty reward applies only to a part of those who believed and worked deeds of righteousness. This is completely incompatible with the context and in conflict with the above verses. This verse undoubtedly comprehends all the blessed Companions ؓ . However, the immediate application of this verse is to the participants of Hudaibiyah and the Pledge of Ridwan. In the preceding verses Allah has announced that they have incurred His pleasure:

لَّقَدْ رَ‌ضِيَ اللَّـهُ عَنِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ يُبَايِعُونَكَ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَ‌ةِ

Allah was pleased with the believers when they were pledging allegiance with you by placing their hands in your hands under the tree,... " (18)

This verse is a guarantee that they wi11 all be firmly established in their faith and righteousness, because Allah is All-knowing and Well-Aware of what is going to happen. If Allah knows that anyone at anytime will turn away from the faith, He will never announce about His pleasure. Ibn ` Abdul Barr, quoting this verse in the introduction to his book isti'ab, writes:

و من ؓ لم یسخط علیہ ابداً

"He with whom Allah is pleased, He will never be displeased with him.".

On the basis of this verse, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said that no one from among the participants of the Pledge of Ridwan will ever enter the Fire. It is absolutely invalid to exclude some of those who were originally promised forgiveness and a mighty reward. Hence there is unanimity among ummah on the point that all the noble Companions are impartial, unbiased and worthy of confidence.

All Companions ؓ Are Inmates of Paradise: Their Sins Are Forgiven and to Belittle them is a Major Sin

Many verses of the Qur'an bear testimony to this fact. Some of the verses are part of this Surah. For instance,

لَّقَدْ رَ‌ضِيَ اللَّـهُ عَنِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

"Allah was pleased with the believers...48:29"

and

أَلْزَمَهُمْ كَلِمَةَ التَّقْوَىٰ وَكَانُوا أَحَقَّ بِهَا وَأَهْلَهَا

"...and made them stick to the word of piety, and they were very much entitled to it, and competent for it.". (48:26)

Besides, in several verses scattered in various other Surahs the same position has been affirmed for all the Companions:

يَوْمَ لَا يُخْزِي اللَّـهُ النَّبِيَّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ

"on the Day when Allah will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believed with him." [ 66:8]

وَالسَّابِقُونَ الْأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِ‌ينَ وَالْأَنصَارِ‌ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُم بِإِحْسَانٍ رَّ‌ضِيَ اللَّـهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَ‌ضُوا عَنْهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِ‌ي تَحْتَهَا الْأَنْهَارُ‌ "As for the first and foremost of the Emigrants and the Supporters, and those who followed them in goodness, Allah is pleased with them, and they are pleased with him; and He prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow... "[ 9:100]

And in Surah Al-Hadid, Allah has promised the Companions ؓ as follows:

وَكُلًّا وَعَدَ اللَّـهُ الْحُسْنَىٰ

"...Allah has promised Husna (the good) for each." (57:10)

And about Husna it is said in Surah Anbiya':

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ سَبَقَتْ لَهُم مِّنَّا الْحُسْنَىٰ أُولَـٰئِكَ عَنْهَا مُبْعَدُونَ

Surely, those for whom the good (news) from Us has come earlier shall be kept far away from it (the Hell) [ 21: 101]

The Holy Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said:

خیر القرون قرنی ثمّ الّذین یلونھم ثمّ الذین یلونھم

"The best of generations is my generation, then that which follows it immediately and then that which follows it immediately (Bukhari)."

In a Hadith the Holy Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said: "Do not revile my Companions, for if one of you contributed as much gold as the mount 'Uhud, it would not amount to as much as the mudd of one of them, or half of it (Bukhari). A mudd in Arabia was a measure which, according to the Hanafi school of Fiqh, is equal to 1.032 litre or 815.39 grams and, according to the other three major schools, it is equal to O. 687 litre or 543 grams. Bazzar records with a sound chain of transmitters that Holy Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said: "Of all the people in the entire world Allah has chosen my Companions, and of all the Companions He has particularly chosen four for me - Abu Bakr, ` Umar, ` Uthman and ` Ali. (See Jam`-ul-Fawa'd)

There is a Hadith recorded in Tirmidhi on the authority of ` Abdullah Ibn Mughaffal. In it the Holy Prophet ﷺ said:

اللہ اللہ فی اصحابی لا تتّخذوھم غرضا من بعدی فمن احبّھم فبحبّی احبّھم و من ابغضھم فببغضی ابغضھم و من اٰذاھم فقد اذانی فقد اذی اللہ و من اذی اللہ فیوشک ان یأخذہ (رواہ الترمذی عن عبداللہ بن المغفل از جمع الفوایٔد)

"Fear Allah, fear Allah regarding my Companions! Do not make them a target of your criticism after me. He who loves them does so on account of my love; he who hates them does so on account of hating me; and he who injures them has injured me, and he who injures me has injured Allah. He who intends to injure Allah will soon be punished by Him."

I have written a book entitled maqam-e-sahabah in which I have collected relevant Qur'anic verses and Prophetic Traditions pertaining to the status of the Companions. This book has already been published in Urdu. The 'Ummah is unanimous on the point that all the blessed Companions ؓ are righteous and worthy of confidence. The book deals elaborately with their disagreements and the civil wars that took place among them. It also explains how a Muslim critic should deal with the differences of the sahabah and whether it should be made a subject of debate and investigation or one should avoid commenting on them. Some of these issues to the degree necessary have been included in the commentary of Surah Muhammad. Please refer to the relevant section there. Allah's help is sought and on Him is our reliance!

Al-hamdulillah

The Commentary on

Surah Al-Fath

Ends here