Prophet Muhammad's (peace on him) Companions &

The First Three Generations of Muslims

Prophet Muhammad peace on him, said: "The best of my nation is my generation then those who follow them and then those who follow them." (Saheeh Bukhaaree)

Ahl as-Sunnah believe that the Caliph after the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is Abu Bakr; then 'Umar; then 'Uthman, then 'Ali, and that whoever contests the Caliphate of any one of these Imams is indeed more lost than an ass.  Ahl as-Sunnah do not think that each of the Sahabah (May Allah be pleased with them) is infallible of committing grave sins or light sins, but that they are liable to commit general offenses. Nevertheless, to them belongs priority in accepting Islam and in doing good deeds which qualify them for forgiveness of what they may have committed, to the extent that their offenses are forgiven. The same offenses will not be forgiven of those who come after them because they (as-Sahabah (May Allah be pleased with them) have a credit of good deeds which erase the bad deeds, a credit the generations after them do not have. It has been confirmed by the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): "That they are the best of all generations," (hadith al-Bukhari and Muslim)

[Ahl as-Sunnah] urge people to mend the relations with those who have broken with them, to give to those who have deprived them, and to forgive those who have done injustice to them. They order people to keep filial piety, to be good to other relatives, to be good neighbors, to treat orphans, wayfarers and the poor kindly and to be gentle and humane to the slave. They forbid bragging, arrogance and transgression. They prevent people from feeling superior over others, rightly or wrongly. And they bid people use high manners and prohibit them from pursuing trifles. All that they say or do of the above, or of other than it, in all of it they follow the Book (The Qur'an) and the Sunnah. Their "path" is the religion of Islam, for which Allah sent Muhammad (peace be upon him).

But for all this, the Prophet (peace be upon him) foretold: "That his 'Ummah will split into seventy-three factions, all of them in Hell except one: The Jama'ah (the Community)." (Reported by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal)

 And (the Prophet) (peace be upon him) said in another hadith: "They are those who will follow what I am and what my companions are today." (at-Tirmidhi)

Abdur-Rahman Ibn Awf

Abdur-Rahman Ibn Awf

He was one of the first eight persons to accept Islam. He was one of
the ten persons (al-asharatu-l mubashshirin) who were assured of
entering Paradise. He was one of the six persons chosen by Umar to
form the council of shura to choose the Khalifah afte r his death.

His name in Jahiliyyah days was Abu Amr. But when he accepted Islam
the noble Prophet called him Abdur-Rahman - the servant of the
Beneficent God.

Abdur-Rahman became a Muslim before the Prophet entered the house of
al-Arqam. In fact it is said that he accepted Islam only two days
after Abu Bakr as-Siddiq did so.

Abdur-Rahman did not escape the punishment which the early Muslims
suffered at the hands of the Quraysh. He bore this punishment with
steadfastness as they did. He remained firm as they did. And when
they were compelled to leave Makkah for Abyssinia beca use of the
continuous and unbearable persecution, Abdur-Rahman also went. He
returned to Makkah when it was rumored that conditions for the
Muslims had improved but, when these rumors proved to be false, he
left again for Abyssinia on a second hijrah. Fro m Makkah once again
he made the hijrah to Madinah.

Soon after arriving in Madinah, the Prophet in his unique manner
began pairing off the Muhajirin and the Ansar. This established a
firm bond of brotherhood and was meant to strengthen social cohesion
and ease the destitution of the Muhajirin. Abdur-Rahman was linked
by the Prophet with Sad ibn ar-Rabi'ah. Sad in the spirit of
generosity and magnanimity with which the Ansar greeted the
Muhajirin, said to Abdur-Rahman:

"My brother! Among the people of Madinah I have the most wealth. I
have two orchards and I have two wives. See which of the two
orchards you like and I shall vacate it for you and which of my two
wives is pleasing to you and I will divorce her for you."

Abdur-Rahman must have been embarrassed and said in reply: "May God
bless you in your family and your wealth. But just show me where the
suq is.."

Abdur-Rahman went to the market-place and began trading with
whatever little resources he had. He bought and sold and his profits
grew rapidly. Soon he was sufficiently well off and was able to get
married. He went to the noble Prophet with the scent of perfume
lingering over him.

"Mahyarn, O Abdur-Rahman!" exclaimed the Prophet - "mahyam" being a
word of Yemeni origin which indicates pleasant surprise.

"I have got married," replied Abdur-Rahman. "And what did you give
your wife as mahr?" "The weight of a nuwat in gold."

"You must have a walimah (wedding feast) even if it is with a single
sheep. And may Allah bless you in your wealth," said the Prophet
with obvious pleasure and encouragement.

Thereafter Abdur-Rahman grew so accustomed to business success that
he said if he lifted a stone he expected to find gold or silver
under it!

Abdur-Rahman distinguished himself in both the battles of Badr and
Uhud. At Uhud he remained firm throughout and suffered more than
twenty wounds some of them deep and severe. Even so, his physical
jihad was matched by his jihad with his wealth.

Once the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, was
preparing to despatch an expeditionary force. He summoned his
companions and said:

"Contribute sadaqah for I want to despatch an expedition." Abdur-
Rahman went to his house and quickly returned. "O Messenger of God,"
he said, "I have four thousand (dinars). I give two thousand as a
qard to my Lord and two thousand I leave for my family. "

When the Prophet decided to send an expedition to distant Tabuk -
this was the last ghazwah of his life that he mounted - his need for
finance and material was not greater than his need for men for the
Byzantine forces were a numerous and well-equipped fo e. That year
in Madinah was one of drought and hardship. The journey to Tabuk was
long, more that a thousand kilometers. Provisions were in short
supply. Transport was at a premium so much so that a group of
Muslims came to the Prophet pleading to go wit h him but he had to
turn them away because he could find no transport for them.

These men were sad and dejected and came to be known as the Bakka'in
or the Weepers and the army itself was called the Army of Hardship
('Usrah). Thereupon the Prophet called upon his companions to give
generously for the war effort in the path of God an d assured them
they would be rewarded. The Muslims' response to the Prophet's call
was immediate and generous. In the fore front of those who responded
was Abdur-Rahman ibn Awl. He donated two hundred awqiyyah of gold
whereupon Umar ibn al-Khattab said to the Prophet:

"I have (now) seen Abdur-Rahman committing a wrong. He has not left
anything for his family."

"Have you left anything for your family, Abdur-Rahman?" asked the
Prophet.

"Yes," replied Abdur-Rahman. "I have left for them more than what I
give and better." "How much?" enquired the Prophet.

"What God and His Messenger have promised of sustenance, goodness
and reward," replied Abdur-Rahman.

The Muslim army eventually left for Tabuk. There Abdur-Rahman was
blessed with an honor which was not conferred on anyone till then.
The time of Salat came and the Prophet, peace be on him, was not
there at the time. The Muslims chose Abdur-Rahman as the ir imam.
The first rakat of the Salat was almost completed when the Prophet,
may God bless him and grant him peace, joined the worshippers and
performed the Salat behind Abdur-Rahman ibn Awl. Could there be a
greater honor conferred on anyone than to have been the imam of the
most honored of God's creation, the imam of the Prophets, the imam
of Muhammad, the Messenger of God!

When the Prophet, peace be on him, passed away, Abdur-Rahman took on
the responsibility of looking after the needs of his family, the
Ummahaat al-Muminin. He would go with them wherever they wanted to
and he even performed Hajj with them to ensure that a ll their needs
were met. This is a sign of the trust and confidence which he
enjoyed on the part of the Prophet's family.

Abdur-Rahman's support for the Muslims and the Prophet's wives in
particular was well-known. Once he sold a piece of land for forty
thousand dinars and he distributed the entire amount among the Banu
Zahrah (the relatives of the Prophet's mother Aminah), the poor
among the Muslims and the Prophet's wives. When Aishah, may God be
pleased with her, received some of this money she asked:

"Who has sent this money?" and was told it was Abdur-Rahman,
whereupon she said:

"The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said:
No one will feel compassion towards you after I die except the
sabirin (those who are patient and resolute)."

The prayer of the noble Prophet that Allah should bestow barakah on
the wealth of Abdur-Rahman appeared to be with Abdur-Rahman
throughout his life. He became the richest man among the companions
of the Prophet. His business transactions invariably met with
success and his wealth continued to grow. His trading caravans to
and from Madinah grew larger and larger bringing to the people of
Madinah wheat, flour, butter, cloths, utensils, perfume and whatever
else was needed and exporting whatever surplus pr oduce they had.

One day, a loud rumbling sound was heard coming from beyond the
boundaries of Madinah normally a calm and peaceful city. The
rumbling sound gradually increased in volume. In addition, clouds of
dust and sand were stirred up and blown in the wind. The peo ple of
Madinah soon realized that a mighty caravan was entering the city.
They stood in amazement as seven hundred camels laden with goods
moved into the city and crowded the streets. There was much shouting
and excitement as people called to one another to come out and
witness the sight and see what goods and sustenance the camel
caravan had brought.

Aishah, may God be pleased with her, heard the commotion and
asked: "What is this that's happening in Madinah?" and she was
told: "It is the caravan of Abdur-Rahman ibn Awl which has come from
Syria bearing his merchandise."

"A caravan making all this commotion?" she asked in disbelief."

"Yes, O Umm al-Muminin. There are seven hundred camels."

Aishah shook her head and gazed in the distance as if she was trying
to recall some scene or utterance of the past and then she said:

"I have heard the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him
peace, say: I have seen Abdur-Rahman ibn Awl entering Paradise
creeping."

Why creeping? Why should he not enter Paradise leaping and at a
quick pace with the early companions of the Prophet?

Some friends of his related to Abdur-Rahman the hadith which Aishah
had mentioned. He remembered that he had heard the hadith more than
once from the Prophet and he hurried to the house of Aishah and said
to her: "Yaa Ammah! Have you heard that from the M essenger of God,
may God bless him and grant him peace?"

"Yes," she replied.

"You have reminded me of a hadith which I have never forgotten," he
is also reported to have said. He was so over-joyed and added:

"If I could I would certainly like to enter Paradise standing. I
swear to you, yaa Ammah, that this entire caravan with all its
merchandise, I will giver sabilillah."

And so he did. In a great festival of charity and righteousness, he
distributed all that the massive caravan had brought to the people
of Madinah and surrounding areas.

This is just one incident which showed what type of man Abdur-Rahman
was. He earned much wealth but he never remained attached to it for
its own sake and he did not allow it to corrupt him.

Abdur-Rahman's generosity did not stop there. He continued giving
with both his hands, secretly and openly. Some of the figures
mentioned are truly astounding: forty thousand dirhams of silver,
forty thousand dinars of gold, two hundred awqiyyah of gold, five
hundred horses to mujahidin setting out in the path of God and one
thousand five hundred camels to another group of mujahidin, four
hundred dinars of gold to the survivors of Badr and a large legacy
to the Ummahaat al Muminin and the catalogue goes on. On account of
this fabulous generosity, Aishah said:

"May God give him to drink from the water of Salsabil (a spring in
Paradise)." All this wealth did not corrupt Abdur-Rahman and did not
change him. When he was among his workers and assistants, people
could not distinguish him from them. One day food was brought to him
with which to end a fast. He looked at the food and said:

"Musab ibn Umayr has been killed. He was better than me. We did not
find anything of his to shroud him with except what covered his head
but left his legs uncovered. . Then God endowed us with the
(bounties of) the world... I really fear that our reward h as been
bestowed on us early (in this world)." He began to cry and sob and
could not eat.

May Abdur-Rahman ibn Awl be granted felicity among "those who spend
their substance in the cause of God and follow up not their gifts
with reminders of their generosity or with injury. For them their
reward is with their Lord, on them shall be no fear nor shall they
grieve". (The Quran, Surah al-Baqarah, 2: 262).

"The best words in their best order in any language cannot adequately depict the way God's Messenger (peace be upon him) looked at the dirham and dinar, wealth and property, and the world and all that it stands for. Indeed, even the disciples who had served their time at the feet of the Prophet's companions (may Allah be pleased with them) or the disciples of such disciples never regarded fortunes and treasures fit enough for the dusthole. Their pure and pious lives, their indifference to wealth and worldly possessions, the way they showered bounty on one and all and preferred others over their own selves, their contentedness with the barest minimum and their heroic selflessness and self-denial take one's breath away. One can only picture to oneself the nobleness of heart and openhanded generosity as well as self-abnegation and unearthly disposition of the great teacher who had enlarged the minds of all the later godly souls."
 
-IslamToday.com