Quick Facts about the Companions

Did you know . . .

• The total number of Companions: around 114,000 [Abū Zur‘ah], though the documented names reach about 10,000
• Mukthiruʼl-Ḥadīth [about 7 Companions who narrated the bulk of ḥadīth from the Prophet]— Abū Hurayrah (5,374), Ibn ʻUmar (2,630), Anas b. Mālik (2,286), ʻĀʼisha (2,210), Ibn ʻAbbās (1,660), Jābir b. ʻAbdullah (1,540) and Abū Saʻīd al-Khudrī (1,170); no other Companion narrated more than 1000 ḥadīth
• Only 120 Companions known to give fatāwā (in general, they refrained from doing so)
• Most learned Companions—ʻUmar, ʻAlī, Ubayy b. Kaʻb, Zayd b. Thābit, Abuʼl-Dardāʼ and Ibn Masʻūd
• Abu Bakr narrated only 142 ḥadīth due to his early death and preoccupation with governance and more urgent matters
• The Generation (Qarn) of the Companions: When the majority of them lived, ended with the end of ‘Alī’s Caliphate [Ibn Taymiyyah]
• Last living Companion— Abū Ṭufayl ʻĀmir b. Wāthilah al-Laythī (died 100H in Makkah); Last Follower to meet him— Khalaf b. Khalīfah (d 188H)
• About 300 were named ‘Abdullah, though only 3 are famous, known as the ‘Abādilah— Ibn ‘Umar, Ibn ‘Abbās, Ibn Amr b. al-‘Āṣ
• There was no Companion named ‘Abd al-Raḥīm or Ismā‘il

[Sources: Shaykh Walid Basyouni, PhD, 

Mohammad Hashim Kamali, A Textbook of Ḥadīth Studies. The Islamic Foundation, United Kingdom. 2005.]

Ilm Summit of Knowledge

With Allah’s grace, this year’s Ilm Summit kicked off in Houston with Shaykh Yaser Birjas and Yasir Qadhi addressing us on the virtue of knowledge and traveling for it. Like last year, we plan on posting daily glimpses and gems, Live from Houston . . .

• The Prophet stated once: O Abu Saeed al-Khudri, people will come to you in droves one day to learn, so greet them by saying Welcome, welcome to the inheritance of the Messenger of Allah and teach them well. [Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah]

مَرْحَباً مَرْحَباً بِوَصِيَّةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ

• It is said the first to travel for knowledge was the Prophet Musa. When he was asked who was the most learned in the world, he replied I am. Jibreel informed him that there is one whom Allah has taught that which you do not know and spoken to him directly. Musa immediately placed someone else in charge of the Israelites (Yusha b. Nun, who was to become a prophet after him) and set out for this person. Imam al-Bukhārī placed this account in the beginning of the chapter on traveling for the sake of knowledge.
• Jabir b. Abdullah traveled from Syria to Madinah for one month to gain just one ḥadīth from Abdullah b. Unays.  [this account is authentic at the level of Hasan, and mentioned by al-Bukhārī in his chapter headings, as well as in Khalq Af ‘āl al-‘Ibād; also related by Aḥmad, al-Ḥākim]
• Some of the blessings and benefits of traveling for knowledge:

1. The physical travel itself is rewarded
2. The seclusion from distractions is extremely beneficial
3. The environment and aura of knowledge also benefits

• Some of the etiquette of seeking knowledge [from Ibn Jamaa’ah, died 733H]:

1. Deviating from one’s comfort zone and pushing yourself to the edge
2. Keep yourself slightly hungry while seeking knowledge but full while teaching
3. Use of study sessions
4. Learning patience and perseverance before learning knowledge
5. Walking/exercise to keep one’s  mind fresh
6. Good companionship- those who are sincere, pious and devoted to knowledge, not lazy and distracting
7. Taking notes

The Reality of Muraqabah

No single leaf falls from a tree nor does exist a tiny grain below the deepest bowels of the earth except that it is in Allah’s perfect knowledge and awareness. Take an introductory look at the the concept of Muraqabah based upon a series of moving verses of the Qur’an, from Imam Nawawi’s Riyadh al-Saliheen. [click to listen]