The definition of Sahaba is a question on which Muslim scholars differ. That is, according to some, a Sahabi, starting from the widest definition, I’ll explain various definitions, I’ll relate various definitions as put forward by various Muslim scholars, and also the same sort of debate is going on among Ahmadis. Some people say that if a prophet has cast his eyes even on the newborn infant, he becomes a Sahabi. According to their definition, Sahabi is the one who was in company of someone.
So that is not necessary that that person who is in company is conscious of the fact, or he is mature or immature, that these factors are irrelevant. You get the physical proximity to someone and you become Sahabi. That is the widest definition. And also they support this idea with the assertion that the prophet’s looks are not like ordinary looks. If they have cast their look upon someone, that person, that recipient of their look, their attention, is definitely blessed, he draws some benefit out of it.
So you do not have to be a conscious person to draw that benefit. Even if a prophet casts his eyes upon someone, he becomes blessed. I mean, that is their definition. Other people say no, because a prophet casts his eyes upon kafirs, upon infidels, idolaters, and so many other people. So they don’t become Sahabi. So there is more to it. Something else should be added to that definition, to define a people who are really and truly capable of being called the companion of the prophet. According to them, companionship is a two-way weapon. It is not only the person who is giving blessing.
If somebody is incapable of receiving blessing, and he is called a companion, then the blesser would be misjudged by the posterity. And so we should be very careful as to declare someone being a companion of Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. And for that, then they started differing with each other as to which age should be declared the fit age for being called a companion.
So some people say that if anyone in his, not maturity, but in his childhood, has heard something from Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, and has remembered that man, and later on, after his death, he remained a Muslim, and remained a pious person, such a person, however small his age be, at the time of meeting our Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, would be called a companion. That was agreed upon by some. But they started differing about the age. Some said any child remembering anything.
Some others said no. He should be of some age where he receives impressions. He learns things and discusses things. So just not one word, memory of one word is not enough. There should be more to it. So people started adding more restrictions to the definition of companionship. And some people thought that one has to be a mature person. A mere child cannot be called a companion. And those people who tend to believe that a higher age limit should be imposed upon a companion, also infer from the Holy Qur’an and say that the companions of our Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, as described in the Holy Qur’an, as called Rizwanullah and other properties and attributes are given about, other attributes are described in the Holy Qur’an, they are of such nature that we can safely infer that all those people mentioned are not children.
They are mature people who are fighting the cause of Islam with our Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, who are participating in all the obligations and responsibilities and discharging their duties. So these are the people who are referred to as companions of the Holy Prophet, not mere children. So they further narrow the field and say no, maturity is a must and in maturity if you have received the benefit of our Prophet’s companionship, you can be called a companion, not otherwise. But the truth lies in between.
We know that some of our Prophet’s companions who rose to great heights, scholarly heights and spiritual heights later on, were mere children in the lifetime of our Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. Ibn Abbas, Ibn Masud, Ibn Masud was an old one, Ibn Abbas was a mere child in his lifetime and he was blessed by him, he prayed for him that may Allah reveal the secrets of the Holy Qur’an to you, may you become a commentator of the Holy Qur’an and he is one of the greatest commentators of the Holy Qur’an and he remembers so much about our Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
So intelligent children who are capable of receiving benefits about whom a Prophet has prayed and whom we know lived over a period of years in close contact with their Prophet, why shouldn’t you be called a companion? So all these questions are in fact ultimately personal preferences. As far as the blessing of the Prophet is concerned, I tend to agree with the very first group I mentioned, that sometimes when a Prophet looks at someone with love and affection and casts a look upon such a person, however small that be, his sight does not have a blessing like the ignorant people believe, but that sight becomes a prayer for him.
He looks with love and Allah also looks with love upon such child. So in such instances, not just mere look at anybody, a look of love and approval, a look full of prayers, that could turn a mere infant into a child, into a companion. And in other cases, even grown-ups could be deprived of the classification of companionship, because we know many of the adults who were known to be Muslims, who came into daily contact with our Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, were munafiqeen. We can’t pinpoint them, because the Holy Qur’an has not mentioned them in name, but Holy Qur’an has told us, definitely, that our Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam recognised them from the signs appearing on their faces.
He was so shrewd, so deeply intelligent, that he immediately understood the type of person he met. The Holy Qur’an bears witness that our Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam was never deceived by munafiqeen. He fully understood them. Yet neither he revealed their identity, nor Allah wanted to disclose their identity, and they are still labelled as Sahaba. So it is possible that some of adult age, who apparently inform our companions, but in truth are not companions of our Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, not those as mentioned in the Holy Qur’an anyway.
So the truth lies in between the two extremes. And we do not stand in a position of debating these issues, in particularisation. In general, this should suffice. It is possible, in principle, for a child to become a companion in the sight of Allah, and it is also possible for an adult not to be counted among companions in the sight of Allah. Who is and who is not, the knowledge is with Allah. In detail, we have neither an authority nor enough evidence available with us to declare each one whether he is a companion or he is not.
But in general principle, we know that in Ahmadiyyat, for instance, the word Raziullah has been used about such children who died as infants in the time of Hazrat Musleh Maud. Not infants, but young boys or girls at the time of Hazrat Musleh Maud sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. For instance, Sahibzada Mirza Mubarak Ahmad Sahib, who died at the age of four and a half years old. And he is called a Raziullah. And similarly, my mother who was a mere child at the time of Hazrat Musleh Maud sallallahu alaihi wa sallam’s death, she had not reached maturity. She is also referred to as Raziullah Qalana. Hazrat Musleh Maud also accepted this.
So, the tradition of Ahmadiyyat is rather lenient in this regard. But in some other respects, the attitude of the Jamaat is rather strict. For instance, when a person is to be buried in a very special part of the graveyard, where only the companions of Hazrat Musleh Maud sallallahu alaihi wa sallam are buried, the existing decision regarding that is that only those should be declared as Sahaba fit for the purpose of burial in that particular place, who are known to have seen Hazrat Musleh Maud sallallahu alaihi wa sallam and heard him and remained in his presence at the time of maturity.
And for that, the age of maturity set by the Jamaat Ahmadiyya, by the Shishura, is 12 years. The second part of your question is the age of maturity. That is also a very variable factor. From country to country, from race to race, and even, I have noticed, from family to family, the age of maturity varies. Some people become mature at early age, some at a very late age, and also individual to individual, it also varies. For instance, some child children are retarded and they reach the age of maturity much later in their life. So this is the question about which we should not bother.
For generalization, because each individual cannot be examined about his maturity, people form some rules, some rules, and the governments also form some rules. For instance, here, a girl becomes mature if she reaches 18 years of age, and a boy becomes immature when he reaches 21st year of his age or completes the 21st year of his age. So that varies from country to country. So that is for a convenience purpose. As far as Shariah goes, it does not follow the laws made by various countries or regulations of convenience. Islam goes by the realities.
So as far as the Shariah is concerned, it could become applicable to an individual whenever he becomes mature, not before. And sometimes if he is mature and retarded, then it will not be applicable in full extent, only it will be partly applicable. These are two cases which I remember. Which was the third one? Or was it not the third? Was it not the third? So at least the second one. At least the second one helped me. No, no, Azur has also explained the second one, because Azur said that some of the Sahabas of the Promised Messiah, they were in the young age. Ah, that’s right. Azur has explained all those. Thank you.
