Companions of the Prophet

The unique trait of the Companions of the Prophet was their ability to acknowledge the Prophet based on pure merit before the establishment of his greatness in human history.

Abdullah ibn Masood, a senior Companion of the Prophet, once said, “God saw the hearts of His servants, and He chose Muhammad. Therefore, he appointed him as His messenger and prophet. Then again, when God saw the people’s hearts, He chose the Companions of the Prophet and made them the supporters of His religion and viziers of His prophet. (Al-Mu’jam Al-Kabir, Al-Tabarani, Hadith No. 8583)

This, as well as other such traditions, show that God chose the Companions of the Prophet. They were Ishmaelites nurtured and trained in the Arab desert according to God’s plan. They were uniquely endowed with those human characteristics required for building a team based on the call of monotheism. The Quran describes one crucial aspect of their character as ‘firm and unyielding.’ (48:29)

The most unique trait of the Companions of the Prophet was their ability to acknowledge the Prophet based on pure merit before the establishment of his greatness in history, and then after accepting his prophethood, dedicating themselves entirely to his mission, unlike the contemporaries of previous prophets who failed to recognize the prophets sent to them by God based on their merit. This unique ability of the Prophet’s Companions resulted from their upbringing in the desert. This desert training had made them realistic in the ultimate sense. This enabled them to recognize reality in its abstract form. Generally, people recognize a person of exceptional merit only after he has acquired historical grandeur. But the Companions of the Prophet were such believers who could recognize the Prophet in “the hour of hardship” (9:117) before his greatness had been established and could dedicate themselves fully to his mission.

Being “firm and unyielding” (48:29) does not mean that the Companions were harsh to the unbelievers. Here it means that the Companions were mature enough to retain their Islamic character and resisted being conditioned by the environment. They were de-conditioned personalities in the complete sense. The Arabic saying: “huwa shadidun alayya” (he does not accept my influence) indicates their calibre. Moreover, the Ishmaelites had been brought up in the desert environs where any sophisticated amenities of civilization, which might have wrongly conditioned them and caused them to deviate from nature, were absent.

According to verse 29, chapter 48 of the Quran, the Companions were compassionate to one another. However, being consistently kind and compassionate to others is very difficult because, in social life, one is repeatedly faced with unpleasant situations created by others. This gives rise to mutual dislike and a sense of grievance. At such times continuing to be kind to another is possible only by rising above bitterness and animosity. Only a mature person can convert such negative experiences into positive ones.

An act of kindness to another is only of value if it is done unconditionally. Given this reality, it becomes evident that the Companions possessed an exceptional ability to think positively. Because the Companions were positive thinkers, they were able, without any prompting, to be compassionate towards others, despite their complaints, and to be the well-wishers of people despite any unpleasant experiences they had with them.