Prophet Muhammad's (peace on him) Companions &

The First Three Generations of Muslims

Prophet Muhammad peace on him, said: "The best of my nation is my generation then those who follow them and then those who follow them." (Saheeh Bukhaaree)

Ahl as-Sunnah believe that the Caliph after the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is Abu Bakr; then 'Umar; then 'Uthman, then 'Ali, and that whoever contests the Caliphate of any one of these Imams is indeed more lost than an ass.  Ahl as-Sunnah do not think that each of the Sahabah (May Allah be pleased with them) is infallible of committing grave sins or light sins, but that they are liable to commit general offenses. Nevertheless, to them belongs priority in accepting Islam and in doing good deeds which qualify them for forgiveness of what they may have committed, to the extent that their offenses are forgiven. The same offenses will not be forgiven of those who come after them because they (as-Sahabah (May Allah be pleased with them) have a credit of good deeds which erase the bad deeds, a credit the generations after them do not have. It has been confirmed by the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): "That they are the best of all generations," (hadith al-Bukhari and Muslim)

[Ahl as-Sunnah] urge people to mend the relations with those who have broken with them, to give to those who have deprived them, and to forgive those who have done injustice to them. They order people to keep filial piety, to be good to other relatives, to be good neighbors, to treat orphans, wayfarers and the poor kindly and to be gentle and humane to the slave. They forbid bragging, arrogance and transgression. They prevent people from feeling superior over others, rightly or wrongly. And they bid people use high manners and prohibit them from pursuing trifles. All that they say or do of the above, or of other than it, in all of it they follow the Book (The Qur'an) and the Sunnah. Their "path" is the religion of Islam, for which Allah sent Muhammad (peace be upon him).

But for all this, the Prophet (peace be upon him) foretold: "That his 'Ummah will split into seventy-three factions, all of them in Hell except one: The Jama'ah (the Community)." (Reported by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal)

 And (the Prophet) (peace be upon him) said in another hadith: "They are those who will follow what I am and what my companions are today." (at-Tirmidhi)

Salmon Farsi

Salmon Farsi Companion of the Prophet

The place: A huge tree with extensive shadow in front of a simple house in Al-Mada'en. There sitting in its shade an old respected man surrounded by his companions. They are listening to him telling his magnificent story of his blessed journey in quest of the truth from his early boyhood.

He is telling them how he abandoned his religion to Christianity and then to Islam, sacrificing his father's extreme wealth for the sake of the truth. He threw himself into the arms of poverty for the mere salvation of his mind and soul. His companions' hearts were touched when he told them how he was destined to be enslaved and how he finally was rewarded with the light he always sought!

That was Salman al-Farisi (the Persian); a companion of the Apostle of Allah [Peace be upon him (PBUH)] and a great example for every sincere seeker of truth.

The Search for Light:

Let us join his honorable company and listen to him narrating a phase of his enlightened life:
"I grew up in the town of Isfahan in Persia in the village of Jayyan. My father was the chief of the village. He was the richest person there and had the biggest house.

Since I was a child my father loved me more than anyone. As time went by, his love for me became so strong and overpowering that he feared to lose me or have anything happen to me. So he kept me at home, like a prisoner, in the same way that young girls were kept.

I became devoted to the Magian religion so much so that I attained the position of custodian of the fire which we worshipped. My duty was to see that the flames of the fire remained burning and that it did not go out for a single hour, day or night.

My father had a vast estate which yielded an abundant supply of crops. He himself looked after the estate and the harvest. One day he was very busy with his duties as chief in the village and he said to me: 'My son, as you see, I am too busy to go out to the estate now. Go and look after matters there for me today.'

On my way to the estate, I passed a Christian church and the voices of prayer attracted my attention. I did not know anything about Christianity or about the followers of any other religion throughout the time my father kept me in the house away from people. When I heard the voices of the Christians, I entered the church to see what they were doing.

I was impressed by their manner of praying and felt drawn to their religion. 'By God,' I said, 'this is better than ours. I shall not leave them until the sun sets.'

I asked and was told that the Christian religion originated in Ash-Sham (Greater Syria). I did not go to my father's estate that day, at night I returned home. My father met me and asked what I had done. I told him about my meeting with the Christians and how I was impressed by their religion. He was dismayed and said: 'My son, there is nothing good in that religion. Your religion and the religion of your forefathers is better.'

'No, their religion is better than ours,' I insisted. My father became upset and afraid that I would leave our religion. So he kept me locked up in the house and put a chain on my feet. I managed however to send a message to the Christians asking them to inform me of any caravan going to Syria. Before long they got in touch with me and told me that a caravan was headed for Syria. I managed to unfetter myself, and in disguise accompanied the caravan to Syria.

There, I asked who was the leading person in the Christian religion and was directed to the bishop of the church. I went up to him and said: 'I want to become a Christian and would like to attach myself to your service, learn from you and pray with you.'

The bishop agreed and I entered the church in his service. I soon found out, however, that the man was corrupt. He would order his followers to give money in charity while holding out the promise of blessings to them. When they gave anything to spend in the way of God, however, he would hoard it for himself and not give anything to the poor or needy. In this way he amassed a vast quantity of gold.

When the bishop died and the Christians gathered to bury him, I told them of his corrupt practices and, at their request, showed them where he kept their donations. When they saw the large jars filled with gold and silver they said, 'By God, we shall not bury him.' They nailed him on a cross and threw stones at him!

I continued in the service of the person who replaced him. The new bishop was an ascetic who longed for the Hereafter and engaged in worship day and night. I was greatly devoted to him and spent a long time in his company."

Here we find a strange uniformity that from Syria to Ammuriyah, Salman went to four or five places and the clergymen everywhere received him with great enthusiasm but none of the clergymen could survive more than a short while. That is why Salman had to change places frequently. The last place he went, was Ammuriyah.

The old Bishop of Ammuriyah, was indeed a respectable pious man. He loved Salman deeply and imparted him knowledge of Christianity sufficiently.

Now Salman was a learned follower of the Christian Faith. He too, as his teacher, the Bishop, would pass his days and nights in praying and worshipping God. He had also purchased some goats, milk of which served for him as food. After sometime, however, the Bishop of Ammuriyah too was at his deathbed.

Before his death, he said to Salman: 'O my son, seeker of the Right Path, this is a very critical period of the world. People are drowned in the deep ocean of sins and evils. I am at a loss as to whom I should send you now. However, you need not be disappointed, because the time seems to be nearing when the Last Messenger of God who would have a reputation for strict honesty, will appear. He will appear in the desert of Arabia and shall revive the True Faith of God. From his birth-place he will migrate to the land which is full of date-tress. There shall be a seal of Prophethood between his shoulders. He will accept gifts presented to him but will never take charity for himself. He will regard alms for him as unlawful. If you attain the period of that Noble Prophet, then you must go to him.' Saying this, the Bishop took his last breath).

In Search of the Last Prophet:

Salman Continues His Story: "A group of Arab leaders from the Kalb tribe passed through Ammuriyah and I asked them to take me with them to the land of the Arabs in return for whatever money I had. They agreed, and I paid them. When we reached Wadi Al-Qura (a place between Madinah and Syria), they broke their agreement and sold me to a Jewish man. I worked as a servant for him but eventually he sold me to a nephew of his belonging to the tribe of Banu Quraythah. This nephew took me with him to Yathrib (Madinah), the city of palm groves, which is how the Christian at Ammuriyah had described it."

In Yathrib Salman saw the dense trees of dates and comprehended that this may be the place where according to the Bishop of Ammuriyah, the Last Messenger of Allah would come migrating from his birth-place. Now he began to wait for the Last Messenger.

Salman Continues: "At that time the Prophet was inviting his people in Makkah to Islam but I did not hear anything about him then because of the harsh duties which slavery imposed upon me.

When the Prophet reached Yathrib after his migration from Makkah. I was in fact at the top of a palm tree belonging to my master doing some work. My master was sitting under the tree. A nephew of his came up and said: 'May God declare war up the Aws and the Khazraj (the two main Arab tribes of Yathrib). By God, they are now gathering at Quba'a to meet a man who has come today from Makkah and who claims he is a prophet.'

I felt hot flushes as soon as I heard these words and I began to shiver so violently that I was afraid that I might fall on my master. I quickly got down from the tree and spoke to my master's nephew. 'What did you say? Repeat the news for me.'

My master was very angry and gave me a terrible blow. 'What does this matter to you? Go back to what you were doing,' he shouted.

That evening, I took some dates that I had gathered and went to the place where the Prophet had alighted. I went up to him and said: 'I have heard that you are a righteous man and that you have companions with you who are strangers and are in need. Here is something from me as charity. I see that you are more deserving of it than others.'

The Prophet ordered his companions to eat but he himself did not eat of it. Salman saw that and thought that the first sign narrated by the Bishop about The Prophet has proved to be correct. But there were still two things to be proved.

I gathered some more dates and when the Prophet left Quba'a for Madinah I went to him and said: 'I noticed that you did not eat of the charity I gave. This however is a gift for you.' Of this gift of dates, both he and his companions ate!"

Salman saw this and came to know that the Prophet really accepts gift. Thus the second sign of the Last Prophet was also proved as correct. Now it remained for Salman to see the Seal of Prophethood. After a few days, when the Prophet went to the graveyard of Baqui'e with a bier, Salman too accompanied the Prophet.

The Prophet apprehended that Salman was trying to see something on his back. So he once removed intentionally his shirt from his shoulder and Salman could see distinctly the sign of Prophethood between the shoulders of the Messenger of Allah. Salman could not control himself but to kiss the Seal of prophethood as he had seen also the third sign of the Prophet.

He at once declared Islam and entered into the fold of Islam. The strict honesty of the Prophet was one of the characteristics that led Salman to believe in him and accept Islam.

Salman was released from slavery by the Prophet (saw) who paid his Jewish slave-owner a stipulated price and also planted an agreed number of date palms to secure his manumission.

After accepting Islam, Salman would say when asked whose son he was: 'I am Salman, the son of Islam from the children of Adam.'

With these bright words, Salman the Persian narrated his long journey of truth quest and success, from the dark to the shining light. He had been through all that for the mere sake of the truth.

What a devotion to truth that made him voluntarily leave his father's wealth and convenience to an unknown fate! He had such a great insight into the doctrines of other religions. He was guided by a clear instinct towards knowing Allah. Allah would not let him down.

Salman lived a long life to see the flags of Islam waving and Muslims spreading mercy and justice all over the earth.

Islamweb.net

"The best words in their best order in any language cannot adequately depict the way God's Messenger (peace be upon him) looked at the dirham and dinar, wealth and property, and the world and all that it stands for. Indeed, even the disciples who had served their time at the feet of the Prophet's companions (may Allah be pleased with them) or the disciples of such disciples never regarded fortunes and treasures fit enough for the dusthole. Their pure and pious lives, their indifference to wealth and worldly possessions, the way they showered bounty on one and all and preferred others over their own selves, their contentedness with the barest minimum and their heroic selflessness and self-denial take one's breath away. One can only picture to oneself the nobleness of heart and openhanded generosity as well as self-abnegation and unearthly disposition of the great teacher who had enlarged the minds of all the later godly souls."
 
-IslamToday.com