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Shia view of the Sahabah

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For other views of Sahaba and a short description, see sahaba.

Introduction

Ahl al-Bayt

While Sunni accept the testimony of all Sahaba as a authenticated part of the chain of narrators in a hadith, without scrutinizing them, Shia do that only for the Ahl al-Bayt. This is due to that Shia believes them to be thoroughly cleansed from all sin, as described in hadith al-Kisa.

Sahaba

Regarding the other parts of chain of narration, all people are up for scrutinize. There is no distinction made between a Sahaba and a taba'een or anyone else regarding trustworthiness, everyone have the same demand to prove or disprove their trustworthiness.

Therefor, Shia look at each Sahaba as an individual, preferring some above others.

While Sunni rank the Sahaba according to when they embraced Islam, Shia rank them according to what they did during their life. In fact, a Sahaba who engaged in open warfare against the Ahl al-Bayt have their trustworthiness reduced to near nothing in the Shia view. Furthermore, Shia assume as self-evident that a sahabi that is fasiq is going to hell.

Hadith where Muhammad is claimed to have in one or the other way absolved all sahaba from sin or elevated the trustworthiness of all Sahaba is usually transmitted through people that in the shia view have in one or the other way opposed the Ahl al-Bayt and are therefor seen as unauthentic by Shias.

Merit for seeing Muhammad

Shia acknowledge no merit per see for having seen Muhammad or being his wife, except that it gives you the potential of using Muhammad's wisdom. In other words, it is up to the individual to decide how much they are going to benefit from Muhammad. Therefore, Shias have different views on each Sahabi, depending on what they accomplished. In the Shia view, some of them lived a life earning hell, supporting their argument from the Quranic verses regarding prophets wives:

Allah sets forth an example to those who disbelieve: the wife of Nuh and the wife of Lut: they were both under two of Our righteous servants, but they acted treacherously towards them so they availed them naught against Allah, and it was said: Enter both the fire with those who enter.

Shias also supporting their view of the Sahaba from this verses addressed to Muhammad's wives:

O wives of the prophet! whoever of you commits an open indecency, the punishment shall be increased to her doubly; and this IS easy to Allah.

And whoever of you is obedient to Allah and His Apostle and does good, We will give to her her reward doubly, and We have prepared for her an honorable sustenance.

In other words, Shia view a sahaba that "commits an open indecency" as twice as blameworthy, since the sahabi had the greatest roll model, and should have been inspired by him. Meaning that the sahabi had all the potential in the world to abstain from sin.

At the same time, a sahaba that "is obedient to Allah and His Apostle and does good" is considered twice as admirable, since the sahabi accomplished so much more due to Muhammad's direct guidance and since he aided Muhammad and his Ahl ul-Bayt.

A further verse that is used is:

And from among those who are round about you of the dwellers of the desert there are hypocrites, and from among the people of Medina (also); they are stubborn in hypocrisy; you do not know them; We know them; We will chastise them twice then shall they be turned back to a grievous chastisement

Detailed list

There is no standardized guideline of status according to the Shia school of thought, a Shia consensus can not established regarding a detailed list based on rank.

However there is a general consensus on the approximate rank of each Sahaba, in the same way that most people would think very badly of Adolf Hitler and Ted Bundy and very well of Mahatma Ghandi and Jesus.

It would be impossible to establish a list showing the approximate view of each Sahaba for all the people in the world, since most people have very different frames of preference. However, it is much easier to do so if the targeted group have a similar frame of preference.

Most Shias have the same frame of preference regarding the relevant issues, since most disagreements between the Shias sects start after Husayn ibn Ali's era. This, and all sects being minority to the twelvers, explains why almost all Shia have a very similar frame of preference regarding the Sahaba, making this list relevant and accurate in the field of Social sciences rather then Hard science.

Shias can in general be expected to have a certain view on each Sahaba after having understood what relevant actions (in the Shia point of view) the specific Sahaba have accomplished during his or her life.

This is in contrast to Sunnis. Egyptian and Saudi Arabian have in general different views on, for example, Muawiya ibn Abu Sufyan, one more favorable and the other more dim, however, both are within the Sunni view that states that all Sahaba go to heaven.

This list

The list of Sahaba includes events that are relevant (in the Shia point of view) for establishing a view, ranked accordingly to their general perceived status.

The Ahl ul-Bayt are not included in this list, since the list revolves around them.

The list

strongly positive status

This can be defined as sahaba that Shia believes to have in action aided the Ahl ul-Bayt and are expected to go to the higher levels of heaven, although God knows best. 17 included so far

Famous sahaba:


Ja'far ibn Abu Talib Ali's brother.

Abdullah ibn Ja'far Zainab bint Alis husband.

Harith ibn Abd al-Muttalib (insert text)

Obaidah ibn al-Harith was the first Muslim to be killed in battle. He was a cousin of Muhammad and Ali, and he was the first Martyr of the battle of Badr.

Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib is in contrast to Sunnis considered Muslim by Shias, arguing that Ali inherited him which would be forbidden if he where an unbeliever.

Aminah bint Wahab was Muhammads mother and Muslim, although she was died before Muhammads call.

Fatima bint Asad was Alis mother and like a mother to Muhammad.

Salman the Persian gave Muhammad the idea to dig the trench, is said that he was elevated in merited to the same level as the Ahl ul-Bayt. He did not give allegiance to Abu Bakr, until Ali supposedly did so.

Bilal ibn Ribah stopped singing the adhan after Muhammad as his protest of Ali's right being usurped. Was highly praised by Imam Jafar al-Sadiq as a lover of Ahl ul-Bayt.

Abu Dharr Ghifari is called by Muhammed as "the most truthful man between heaven and earth", loudly opposed Uthmans caliphat, was exiled to death by Uthman.

Abdullah ibn Abbas was a staunch follower of Ali. Did not give allegiance to Abu Bakr, until Ali supposedly did so. Accompanied Ali when he demanded his inheritance from Umar and sought very badly of Umar and Abu Bakr. Strongly argued against Umars prohibition of temporary marriage. Convinced 20'000 of 24'000 the Khawarij to return to Ali. Cried at the age of 70 when recalling Umar calling Muhammad "Delirius".

Malik ibn Ashter was Ali's general when he came close to killing Muaviya, then became his governor, has long and beautiful letter addressed to him in Nahj ul-Balagha in which Ali gives guidance in how to uphold a government. That letter was reffered to in the United Nations as a advice to arabs.

Ammar ibn Yasir was killed by Muawiyas army in the Battle of Siffin when he was 90 years old, as predicted by Muhammad.

Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib had his body desecrated in the battle of Uhud by Hind binte Utbah

Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr was Abu Bakr's son and a great companion of Ali. He was choosen to govern Egypt, killed and tortured by Muawiya. He was against Uthmans rule.

Umm Khultum bint Ali was taken to Yazids palace after the Battle of Karbala.

Zaynab bint Ali was taken to Yazids palace after the Battle of Karbala.

Khabbab ibn al-Aratt was a great roll model in life.

Less famous sahaba:

Akib ibn Usaid was the first governor of Makkah.

positive status

This can be defined as sahaba that Shia believes to have in words aided the Ahl ul-Bayt and are expected to go to the heaven, although God knows best. 28 included so far

Famous sahaba:

Aqeel ibn Abu Talib (insert motivation)

Talib ibn Abu Talib (insert motivation)

Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (insert motivation)

Asma bint Umais was Abu Bakr's wife. When Abu Bakr died, she married Ali.

Miqdad ibn al-Aswad al-Kindi (insert motivation)

Zaid ibn Arqam reiterated the hadith of thaqalyan in Sahi Muslim.

Sa'ad ibn Mu'adh (insert motivation)

Abd al-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr (insert motivation)

Less famous sahaba:

Zaid mawla Muhammad was the freed slave of Muahmamd and the father of Usama.

Usama ibn Zaid was made commander over Umar, Abu Bakr and Uthman at the age of 18 a few days before Muhammad's demise. When Umar and others protested regarding his young age, Muhammad silenced the protests.

Ubaidullah bin Abdullah retold the event of the pen and paper as he heard from Ibn Abbas.

Lubaynah accepted Islam, and Umar who had not accepted Islam by that time would beat her mercilessly until he was tired. He would then say, "I have only stopped beating you, because I am tired." She would say. "May God treat you in the same way".

Fazl ibn Abbas (insert motivation)

Khalid ibn Sa'id ibn al-As (insert motivation)

Buraida Aslami (insert motivation)

Ubai ibn Ka'b (insert motivation)

Khuzaima ibn Thabit Dhu'sh-Shahadatain (insert motivation)

Abu'l-Hathama Bin Tihan (insert motivation)

Sahl ibn Hunaif (insert motivation)

Uthman ibn Hunaif Dhu'sh-Shahadatain (insert motivation)

Abu Ayub Ansari (insert motivation)

Jabir Ibn Abdullah Ansari (insert motivation)

Hudhaifa ibn Yaman (insert motivation)

Sa'd ibn Ubaida (insert motivation)

Qais ibn Sa'd (insert motivation)

Malik ibn Nuwayra was killed by Khalid ibn Walid before his wife was raped and killed.

Layla bint al-Minhal was Malik ibn Nuwayras widow that got raped and killed by Khalid ibn Walid

Arwa bint Abd al-Muttalib was one of the meritorious women.

neutral status

This can be defined as sahaba that Shia believes to have held a neutral position to Ahl ul-Bayt, or later on changed their position. No general expected view regardin their aftelife. 9 included so far

Famous sahaba:

Talha (insert motivation)

Zubayr ibn al-Awwam aided Ali in the shed of bani Saad and refused to give allegiance to Abu Bakr, gave again allegiance when Ali was selected as Caliph, then broke that allegiance and went to war with him in the Battle of the Camel, and ultimately left that battle to be killed by people in Ali's army, against Ali's wishes.

Abdullah ibn Zubayr turned his father against Ali, argued with ibn Abbas for the legitimacy of the ban against temporary marriage, fought Yazid for the Caliphat.

Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas (insert motivation)

Abdullah Umar ibn Abbas did not give oath of allegiance to Yazid

Less famous sahaba:

Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf demanded that Ali was to follow the Quran, the way of Muhammad and also the way of Umar and Abu Bakr in order to be the third Caliph. Ali refused, Uthman became Caliph.

Um Ruman was Abu Bakr wife

Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah (insert motivation)

Said ibn Zayd (insert motivation)

negative status

This can be defined as sahaba that Shia believes to have in words opposed the Ahl ul-Bayt and are expected to initialy go to hell, althought God knows best. 7 included so far

Famous sahaba:

Anas ibn Malik was famous for his disillusionment towards Ali

Abdullah ibn Umar contradicted his father regarding temporary marriage and also other of his misunderstandings, did not give oath of allegiance to Ali, disliked Ali, gave his oath of allegiance to Muawiya and received hundreds of thousands of dirham from him. He gave his oath to Yazid and demanded that no one that had done the same may oppose Yazid.

Abu Huraira was severely beaten by Umar ibn al-Khattab on several occasions, once when he was fired as governor while being accused of theft. Umar also called him a liar and forbade him to narrate ahadith from Muhammad. Later he strated to work for Muawiya as a irreligious serial fabricator of false hadith.

Abu Sufyan ibn Harb for he was Muhammads arch enemy and Muawiyas step father.

Less famous sahaba:

Abdullah bin Aamir Hadhrami was assigned as guvernor by Uthman.

Ziyad ibn Abu Sufyan father of Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad, the man that killed Muslim ibn Aqeel

strongly negative status

This can be defined as sahaba that Shia believes to have in action opposed the Ahl ul-Bayt and are expected to go to the deepest levels of hell, althought God knows best. 8 included so far

Famous sahaba:

Amr ibn al-As aided Muawiya during the Battle of Siffin and on his order poisoned Malik ibn Ashter.

Hind bint Utbah was Abu Sufiyan ibn Harb wife and Muawiyas mother. She desecrated the body of Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib in the battle of Uhud.

Abu Bakr ibn abu Qahafa with Umars help he usurped Ali's caliphate and Fatima Zaharas inheritance and the land of Fadak, gifted to her by Muhammad after having violated Muahmmads order by leaving Usama's dispatchment. He made Khalid ibn Walid his general and protected Khalids atrocities from Umars wrath.

Umar ibn al-Khattab Regarded as an unholy and ignorant usurper and illegitimate leader; see his main Misplaced Pages entry for partial further details of the Shia view (and the sharply contrasting Sunni view).

Uthman ibn Affan Established a hereditary system of government, gave enormous amount of money to the Umayyed, doubled the morning prayer, gave Muawiya power, continued with Umar's bid'ah, sent Abu Dharr Ghifari to Muawiya and then sent him to exile where he died, returned Marwan ibn Al-Hakam from Muhammads exile.

Khalid ibn al-Walid murdered muslims during Muhammad's life. After Muhammad's departure, he and Umar on Abu Bakrs order broke in to Ali's house, giving Fatima a deadly injury, and dragged Ali to Abu Bakr. Khalid mercilessly butchered a whole tribe of devout Muslims. Afterwords he raped and then killed one of the widows, Layla Bint al-Minhal. After that it became a routine for the Muslim rulers and commanders to kill, loot and plunder the Muslim communities for worldly gains. Labeled a fasiq muslim.

Muaviya ibn Abu Sufyan opposed Alis caliphat, broke his agreement with Hasan, poisoned Hasan, established the 80 year long practice of cursing Ali and lastly but not least: Allowed Yazid to come into power. labled a munafiq muslim.

Marwan ibn al-Hakam killed his commander Talha.

Less famous sahaba:

to be ranked

This Sahaba have not been ranked accordinly to the Shia view. You can help Misplaced Pages by doing that.

The list is divided in parts to make it easier to overview

part 1

part 2


Ibn Mandah's book "Those of the Companions Who Lived 120 years.":

They are fourteen:

  • 1. Hakim ibn Hizam (d. 54, Madina)
  • 2. `Asim ibn `Adi al-Badri
  • 3. Huwaytib ibn `Abd al-`Uzza
  • 4. Sa`d ibn Iyas al-Shaybani
  • 5. Makhrama ibn Nawfal
  • 6. Sa`id ibn Yarbu`
  • 7. Sa`d ibn Junada al-`Awfi al-Ansari
  • 8. HASSAN IBN THABIT, the poet of the Prophet and the one supported by the Holy Spirit.
  • 9. Abu `Umara `Abd Khayr ibn Yazid
  • 10. Hamnan ibn `Awf
  • 11. al-Muntaji`al-Najdi
  • 12. Nafi` Abu Sulayman al-`Abdi
  • 13. al-Lajlaj
  • 14. Abu Shaddad al-`Umani

Part 3

Muhammad ibn Ja'far

part 4

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items.

See also

External links

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