The Companions of The Prophet(SAWS)
The Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) said:
“When my Companions are mentioned then withhold.” [Sahih At-Tabarani]
“Whoever abuses my Companions, upon them is the curse of Allah, the angels and all the people.” [Sahih At-Tabarani]
Scholars are agreed upon the definition of Companionship by Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani: ‘A Companion is the believer who saw and heard Allah’s Messenger at least once and died as a believer’.
It goes without saying that the Companions are not equal to each other in rank or greatness. Some of them believed in Allah’s Messenger at the very outset of his mission, and conversions continued until his saying farewell to the world. The Quran grades them according to precedence in belief and according to conversion before the Conquest of Makka and after it (Quran 9:100 and 57:10). The same gradation was also made by Allah’s Messenger himself. For example, he reproached Khalid bin Al-Waleed (RA) for offending Abdur-Rahman bin Awf (RA), saying: “Do not trouble my Companions!” In the same way, he frowned at Umar (RA), when he annoyed Abu Bakr (RA), and said: “Will you not leave my Companions alone? Abu Bakr believed in me at a time when all of you denied me.” Abu Bakr knelt down and explained: ‘O Messenger of God! It was my fault!.’
As recorded by Tabarani and Ibn Al-Athir, Abdullah bin Masud, who was among the first to embrace Islam in Makkah and sent to Kufa as a teacher by Umar, said:
“Allah looked at the hearts of His true servants and chose Muhammad, upon him be Peace and Blessings, to send to His creatures as a Messenger. Then, He looked at the hearts of people and chose his Companions as the helpers of His religion and the ambassadors of His Prophet, upon him be Peace and Blessings.
Twelve Ranks of the Companions
The Companions were divided into twelve ranks by the scholars. This division was made according to the chronological order and some groups are also included in others. It was accepted by the majority of scholars:
1. The four Rightly-Guided Caliphs, namely Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, and the rest of the ten to whom Paradise was promised while alive. They are Zubair bin Al-Awwam, Abu Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah, Abdur-Rahman bin Awf, Talha bin Ubaidullah, Sa‘d bin Abi Waqqas and Saeed bin Zad, may Allah be pleased with them all.
2. Those who believed prior to Umar’s conversion and frequently gathered together secretly in the House of Arqam to listen to Allah’s Messenger, upon him be Peace and Blessings.
3. Those who migrated to Abyssinia in the first hijrah (migration) for Allah’s Sake.
4. The Helpers (Ansar) who were present at the first ceremony of taking the Oath of Allegiance to Allah’s Messsenger at Al-Aqaba.
5. The Helpers (Ansar) who took the Oath of Allegiance to the Messenger at Al-Aqaba, the following year.
6. The first Emigrants (Muhajireen) who joined Allah’s Messenger before his arrival in Madinah during the Hijrah (Emigration).
7. The Companions who participated in the Battle of Badr.
8. Those who emigrated to Madinah during the period between the Battle of Badr and the Treaty of Hudaybiyah.
9. The Companions who took the Oath of Allegiance to Allah’s Messenger under a tree during the expedition of Hudaybiyah.
10. Those who converted and emigrated to Madinah after the Treaty of Hudaybiyah.
11. Those who became Muslims after the conquest of Makkah.
12. The children who saw Allah’s Messenger either during the Conquest of Makka or during the Farewell Pilgrimage, or in any other place and on different occasions.
According to this ranking, Khalid bin Al-Waleed would come in Rank 10, since he accepted Islam after the Truce of Hudaybiyah.
