Who are the companions?
In this step you will meet some of the people who knew the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, most closely. Muslims call them the Sahabah, the companions. One companion is a sahabi (a man) or a sahabiyyah (a woman).
Who counts as a companion
Scholars define a companion as someone who met the Prophet while believing in him, and who died as a Muslim. There were thousands of them: men and women, young and old, rich and poor, from many backgrounds. Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him, came from an Abyssinian (Ethiopian) family, and Salman, may Allah be pleased with him, came from Persia. Many of them began exactly where you are now: new to Islam, learning one step at a time. Some of them paid a heavy price for their faith.
Why they matter
The companions heard the Quran from the Prophet himself, prayed behind him, and watched how he lived. Then they carried all of it to the next generation. Every verse you recite and every hadith you read reached you through them. Allah praises them in the Quran. He speaks of "the first forerunners [in the faith] among the Muhajireen and the Ansar" (the emigrants who left Makkah for the sake of Islam, and the helpers of Madinah who welcomed them) and "those who followed them with good conduct", and then says:
Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him, and He has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great attainment.
Quran 9:100 (Saheeh International translation)
Notice who is included: "those who followed them with good conduct". Scholars of tafsir (explanation of the Quran) explain that this means everyone who follows them in belief, in words, and in deeds. The door is open to you too.
The Prophet Muhammad also spoke about their generation:
The best of you are my generation, then those who follow them, then those who follow them.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3650 and Sahih Muslim 2535
How Muslims speak about them
Muslims speak about the companions with love and respect. After a companion's name you will often hear radiyallahu 'anhu, "may Allah be pleased with him". These words come from the Quran itself, from the verse you just read:
Arabic: رَّضِىَ ٱللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا۟ عَنْهُ
How to say it: Radiyallahu 'anhum wa radu 'anh
Meaning: Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him.
The ending changes depending on who you are speaking about:
radiyallahu 'anhu: may Allah be pleased with him
radiyallahu 'anha: may Allah be pleased with her
radiyallahu 'anhuma: may Allah be pleased with them both
radiyallahu 'anhum: may Allah be pleased with them all
The Prophet also warned against insulting them:
Do not revile my Companions, for if anyone of you spends gold equal to Mount ’Uhud (in Allah's cause), it will not be equal to a Mudd or even half a Mudd spent by one of them.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3673 and Sahih Muslim 2541
A mudd is a small measure, about what fills two cupped hands. Their small charity outweighs a mountain of gold from anyone after them, because of their sincerity and because they gave when Islam needed it most. This does not mean they were perfect. They were human, and they made mistakes. But Allah praised them, so we love them, speak well of them, and never insult them.
What does *radiyallahu 'anhu* mean?
The companions carried Islam to us. Allah is pleased with them, and we speak of them with love, respect, and the words *radiyallahu 'anhum*.
In the next four lessons you will meet four of them: Khadijah, Abu Bakr, Umar, and Bilal, may Allah be pleased with them.
Sources
Keep going
Up next: Khadijah: the first to believe
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