A common belief among many traditionalists is that the companions ( sahaba) were among the most righteous and, therefore, should be considered absolutely trustworthy in their testimonies. Much of this understanding comes from the following Hadith.
Narrated `Abdullah: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “ The best people are those of my generation, and then those who will come after them (the next generation), and then those who will come after them (i.e. the next generation), and then after them, there will come people whose witness will precede their oaths, and whose oaths will precede their witness.”
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدَانُ، عَنْ أَبِي حَمْزَةَ، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنْ عَبِيدَةَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ “ خَيْرُ النَّاسِ قَرْنِي، ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ، ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ، ثُمَّ يَجِيءُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ قَوْمٌ تَسْبِقُ شَهَادَتُهُمْ أَيْمَانَهُمْ وَأَيْمَانُهُمْ شَهَادَتَهُمْ ”.
Sahih al-Bukhari 6429
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:6429
Additionally, we see the following quotes from traditionalist sources:
“All of the Companions are trustworthy – those who were involved in the afflictions (fitan) and other than them – according to the consensus of the scholars.”
– An-Nawawee said in at-Taqreeb, which As-Suyootee explained in his Tadreeb-ur-Raawee
“Ahl-us-Sunnah have unanimously agreed that all of them (the Sahaabah) are trustworthy and no one opposed this except some deviants amongst the innovators.”
– Al-Haafidh Ibn Hajr said in al-lsaabah
“Every hadeeth that has a chain of narration that is connected between the one who reported it and the Prophet is not to be acted upon until first having affirmed the trustworthiness and reliability of all the narrators (in the chain). It is an obligation to investigate all of their conditions, except for the Sahaabee (Companion) who raises it (or attributes the hadeeth) to the Prophet. This is because the trustworthiness of the Companions is established and well known based on Allaah’s affirming that for them, His informing us of their pure state and His preference of them in the texts of the Qur’aan…”
– Al-Khateeb Al-Baghdaadee said in his book al-Kifaayah
Definition of Companion (Sahabah)
To determine the trustworthiness of the prophet’s companions, it is worth defining who exactly constitutes the companions ( sahabah). In this definition, traditionalists find themselves in a bind. If they make the definition too restrictive, then while it would provide more integrity for the people they deem companions, it has a reverse effect where it hurts the credibility of the traditions they narrate.
This is because traditionalists base the entire credibility of their religion on the chain of transmitters (isnad) for their narrations. The credibility of the isnad is predominately based on two factors: the reliability of the transmitter and the degrees of separation from the prophet to the transmitter. This has caused shady practices among scholars of Hadith to make the transmitters they transmit from appear more reliable by hiding their weaknesses while finding ways to reduce the length of the isnad for the Hadith they narrate.
The outcome of this regarding the companions is two-fold. Firstly, they are collectively incentivized to deem all companions trustworthy. By giving carte blanche trustworthiness status to all companions, they created another loophole. A hadith that is missing a narrator between the Successor ( tabiun) to the Prophet, meaning it did not include a companion in the chain of transmitters, is considered “ mursal” ( مرسل). Mursal hadith are deemed defective and would hurt the ranking of a hadith. Such hadith would not be ranked as Sahih (authentic) and would be rated as Hasan (good) at best. However, this concept does not apply to narrations among the companions. This means that if a companion heard a statement from another companion regarding something the prophet supposedly said, and not the prophet himself, then this hadith would not be considered defective. Hadith scholars like Bukhari and Muslim used many of these Hadith in their Sahih compilations. This was acceptable among companions because they are considered absolutely trustworthy in their narrations.
The second devious action traditionalists made regarding the companions was to define who the companions were as broadly as they could to encompass as many people in this category as possible. Because of this, most traditionalists define a companion as anyone who saw the messenger while he was alive and died a Muslim. As al-Bukhari notes in his Sahih, “a companion is anyone who saw the Prophet, even for a moment, while a believer and who then died as a Muslim.” 1
Limiting the term broadly allowed traditionalists to narrate from companions for many years after the prophet’s death. And since scholars consider it acceptable for companions to narrate from the prophet even if they didn’t hear it directly from him without providing their sources, this allowed for much shorter isnads for their narrations.
Trustworthiness of Companions Testimonies
While Sunni scholars claim that the companions are absolutely trustworthy and any testimony coming from them should be accepted without reservation, what does the Quran have to say regarding the matter?
The Quran informs us that if anyone accuses a married woman of adultery and fails to produce four witnesses, they shall be lashed eighty times and that no testimony should be accepted from them.
24:4 Those who accuse married women of adultery, then fail to produce four witnesses, you shall whip them eighty lashes, and do not accept any testimony from them; they are wicked.
In the same sura, just a few verses ahead, the Quran informs us that a gang among the prophet’s companions produced a big lie. From the context of the verses, we can determine that these people accused a pious woman of adultery.
24:11 A gang among you produced a big lie. Do not think that it was bad for you; instead, it was good for you. Meanwhile, each one of them has earned his share of the guilt. As for the one who initiated the whole incident, he has incurred a terrible retribution.
24:12 When you heard it, the believing men and the believing women should have had better thoughts about themselves, and should have said, “This is obviously a big lie.”
God calls the people who propagated and initiated this lie liars, and since they were unable to produce four witnesses for their false claim, none of their testimonies should ever be accepted. There is no Hadith that provides the names of each of these companions, so we have no way of knowing which companions’ testimonies should never be accepted. This becomes very questionable in the case of knowing which Hadith from which companion can be accepted even if they did testify to a statement from the prophet.
That said, can we make any deductions regarding the number of individuals implicated in this lie. The word for “gang” used in the verse is “ʿuṣ’batun” ( عُصْبَةٌ). The root of this word is ayn-saad-ba ( ع ص ب), and it occurs five times in the Quran. Four occurrences are in the context of a group of people, and one time with a different meaning.
If we look at these other three occurrences, we may be able to determine if this was a small or large gang among the companions that should have their testimonies nullified.
In the first occurrence of 12:8, we see that the brothers of Joseph use this word to indicate that they are a larger group, e.g., the majority, compared to Joseph and his brother.
12:8 They said, “Joseph and his brother are favored by our father, and we are in the majority. Indeed, our father is far astray.
The last use of this word in the Quran is about Qaroon. The verse that uses the word indicates that the keys to his treasure were so heavy that it would take a large group of men with great strength to be able to lift them. Again, we see that the word “ʿuṣ’batun” ( عُصْبَةٌ) is meant to signify a large group and not a small one.
28:76 Qãroon (the slave driver) was one of Moses’ people who betrayed them and oppressed them. We gave him so many treasures that the keys thereof were heavy for a band (of men) possessing great strength. His people said to him, “Do not be so arrogant; GOD does not love those who are arrogant.
[*Note: For a discussion on the sort of keys that existed in those days, check out the following article.]
So from this, we can deduce that when 24:11 discusses “a gang among you,” this is not a small group but that this constituted the majority of the companions at the time. Since this sura is understood to have been revealed in Medina after the Battle of the Parties as the 102 nd revelation, this would mean that the number of companions impacted by this would be much larger than if it was an earlier revelation. Based on this information, the testimonies of the companions should be highly suspicious, per the decree of God in 24:13, that anyone who participated in this event should have none of their testimonies accepted.
Hypocrites Among Companions
The Quran further contradicts the narrative regarding the infallibility of the companions. Sura 9, Ultimatum ( Barã’ah), was the last major revelation given to the prophet. This can be deduced from the content of the Sura, which indicates that it was revealed shortly before the end of the prophet’s life. Yet, the last verses of this sura show that even this late in the stage of the prophet’s life, some of the prophet’s companions were not only hypocrites, but even their identities were unknown to the prophet.
9:101 Among the Arabs around you, there are hypocrites. Also, among the city dwellers, there are those who are accustomed to hypocrisy. You do not know them, but we know them. We will double the retribution for them, then they end up committed to a terrible retribution.
So, if the prophet didn’t know which of his companions were hypocrites, how less likely is it that later generations could make these deductions. As if that isn’t challenging enough, we have to compound this that the earliest books documenting the biographies of Hadith transmitters and their reliability, known as ‘Alm al-Rijal ( علم الرجال), were not created until the third century Hijra. This means that these authors made claims about the reliability of transmitters who lived hundreds of years before them and potentially thousands of miles away in various regions of the Islamic world.
If we continue reading, we see the depravity of these companions’ hypocrisy, to the point that they abused the masjids by practicing idol worship and dividing the believers.
9:107 There are those who abuse the masjid by practicing idol worship, dividing the believers, and providing comfort to those who oppose GOD and His messenger. They solemnly swear: “Our intentions are honorable!” GOD bears witness that they are liars.
The sura even ends with this dire warning for followers of the Quran about these companions and their hypocrisy, that their hearts have been diverted from God and the truth.
9:124 When a sura was revealed, some of them would say, “Did this sura strengthen the faith of anyone among you?” Indeed, it did strengthen the faith of those who believed, and they rejoice in any revelation. 9:125 As for those who harbored doubts in their hearts, it actually added unholiness to their unholiness, and they died as disbelievers. 9:126 Do they not see that they suffer from exacting trials every year once or twice? Yet, they consistently fail to repent, and fail to take heed? 9:127 Whenever a sura was revealed, some of them would look at each other as if to say: “Does anyone see you?” Then they left. Thus, GOD has diverted their hearts, for they are people who do not comprehend.
Companions in Hell
The Quran informs us that the destiny of such hypocrites is Hell.
9:73 O you prophet, strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be stern in dealing with them. Their destiny is Hell; what a miserable abode!
The Quran even provides the testimony of these companions who are destined for Hell on the Day of Judgement, as well as the messenger’s testimony against his people.
25:27 The day will come when the transgressor will bite his hands (in anguish) and say, “Alas, I wish I had followed the path with ( مَعَ) the messenger.
It is worth noting that the usage of the word “ ma’a” ( مَعَ), as used in 25:27, signifies “in the company” of the person. Therefore, this is a testimony of a companion of the prophet who abandoned the Quran.
God Promises To Preserve THe Quran, Not Hadith
This should give any pious follower of the Quran pause regarding accepting the testimony of any companion of the prophet through Hadith narrations besides the Quran. This is because the Quran, unlike the Hadith corpus, has been given the divine guarantee that it will be preserved.
15:9 Absolutely, we have revealed the reminder, and, absolutely, we will preserve it.
Some argue that since 15:9 uses the term “ al-zikr” (the reminder) and not “the Quran,” and therefore this divine promise of preservation would also apply to the Hadith. Yet, we see in the following verse that the “zikr” (reminder) is in the scripture (kitab) and not some other source like the traditionalists claim.
21:10 We have sent down to you a scripture containing your reminder. Do you not understand?
This understanding is also reinforced in the previous verses 25:29-30 where we see that the person who was led away from the l-dhik’ri ( ٱلذِّكْرِ) is accused of abandoning the Quran, and not the Hadith, by the messenger.
Not only does the Hadith corpus not have such a divine promise, but historically, we see that many of the earliest companions, including the most prominent companions, Abu Bakr, Umar, and ‘Ali, not only made an active effort to reduce the spread of Hadith beside the Quran, they also imprisoned people for spreading Hadith, threatened people with punishment for spreading Hadith, and even burned Hadith en masse.
It is reported that Umar, during his reign as Caliph, did not allow the prophet’s companions to travel freely without his permission because he did not want them to propagate Hadith. It wasn’t until the reign of Uthman that this ban was lifted, and the companions were allowed to emigrate to some of the newly Muslim-conquered regions.
In Tadhkirat al-huffaz, al-Dhahabi reported from Shu’bah, from Sa’id ibn Ibrahim from his father, that Umar detained Ibn Mas’ud, Abu al-Darda’ and Abu Mas’ud al-Ansari, saying to them: You have narrated hadith abundantly from the Messenger of Allah. It is reported that he had detained them in Medina, but they were set free by Uthman.
Ibn Sa’d and Ibn Asakir reports from Mahmud ibn Labid that he said: I heard Uthman ibn Affan addressing people from over the pulpit: It is unlawful for anyone to narrate any hadith he never heard of during the time of Abu Bakr and that of Umar. Verily that which made me abstain from narrating from the Messenger of Allah was not to be among the most conscious of his Companions, but I heard him declaring: “Whoever ascribing to me something I never said, he shall verily occupy his (destined) abode in Fire.”
Human and Jinn Devils
The Quran also informs us that there are human and jinn devils who will entice people with their fancy words to lead people away from the Quran.
6:112 We have permitted the enemies of every prophet— human and jinn devils—to inspire in each other fancy words, in order to deceive. Had your Lord willed, they would not have done it. You shall disregard them and their fabrications.
6:113 This is to let the minds of those who do not believe in the Hereafter listen to such fabrications, and accept them, and thus expose their real convictions.
6:114 Shall I seek other than GOD as a source of law, when He has revealed to you this book fully detailed? Those who received the scripture recognize that it has been revealed from your Lord, truthfully. You shall not harbor any doubt.
In the book “Hadith Muhammad’s Legacy in Medieval and Modern World” by Professor Jonathan Brown, on page 165, it states:
“When Sunni legal theory matured in the eleventh century, it was accepted that, although ahad( i.e., non-massively transmitted) hadiths did not yield epistemological certainty (yaqin) that the Prophet had made that statement, they did yield a very strong probability ( zann). This was sufficient for fixing law and ritual. While almost all legal hadiths were ahad, the Quran was epistemologically certain, massively transmitted from the time of the Prophet. “
Sunnis admit that their Hadith corpus, at best, is conjecture ( zann / ظَّنَّ), and what does the Quran tell us about conjecture ( zann)?
6:148 The idol worshipers say, “Had GOD willed, we would not practice idolatry, nor would our parents, nor would we prohibit anything.” Thus did those before them disbelieve, until they incurred our retribution. Say, “Do you have any proven knowledge that you can show us? You follow nothing but conjecture (zann); you only guess.”
We additionally have the following verse giving us another warning that this is one of the tactics of the devil that God permits as a test for those who harbor doubts.
22:52 We did not send before you any messenger, nor a prophet, without having the devil interfere in his wishes. GOD then nullifies what the devil has done. GOD perfects His revelations. GOD is Omniscient, Most Wise.