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)

'Abdullah bin Mas'ood

When he was still a youth, not yet past the age of puberty, he used
to roam the mountain trails of Makkah far away from people, tending
the flocks of a Quraysh chieftain, Uqbah ibn Muayt. People called
him "Ibn Umm Abd"Ñthe son of the mother of a slave. His real name
was Abdullah and his father's name was Mas'ud.

The youth had heard the news of the Prophet who had appeared among
his people but he did not attach any importance to it both because
of his age and because he was usually far away from Makkan society.
It was his custom to leave with the flock of Uqbah early in the
morning and not return until nightfall.

One day while tending the flocks, Abdullah saw two men, middle-aged
and of dignified bearing, coming towards him from a distance. They
were obviously very tired. They were also so thirsty that their lips
and throat were quite dry. They came up to him, greeted him and
said, "Young man, milk one of these sheep for us that we may quench
our thirst and recover our strength."

"I cannot," replied the young man. "The sheep are not mine. I am
only responsible for looking after them."

The two men did not argue with him. In fact, although they were so
thirsty, they were extremely pleased at the honest reply. The
pleasure showed on their faces . . .

The two men in fact were the blessed Prophet himself and his
companion, Abu Bakr Siddiq. They had gone out on that day to the
mountains of Makkah to escape the violent persecution of the
Quraysh.

The young man in turn was impressed with the Prophet and his
companion and soon became quite attached to them.

It was not long before Abdullah ibn Mas'ud became a Muslim and
offered to be in the service of the Prophet. The Prophet agreed and
from that day the fortunate Abdullah ibn Mas'ud gave up tending
sheep in exchange for looking after the needs of the blesse d
Prophet.

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud remained closely attached to the Prophet. He
would attend to his needs both inside and outside the house. He
would accompany him on journeys and expeditions. He would wake him
when he slept. He would shield him when he washed. He would carry
his staff and his siwak (toothbrush) and attend to his other
personal needs.

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud received a unique training in the household of
the Prophet. He was under the guidance of the Prophet, he adopted
his manner and followed his every trait until it was said of
him, "He was the closest to the Prophet in character."

Abdullah was taught in the "school" of the Prophet. He was the best
reciter of the Qur'an among the companions and he understood it
better than them all. He was therefore the most knowledgeable on the
Shariah. Nothing can illustrate this better than the story of the
man who came to Umar ibn al-Khattab as he was standing on the plain
of Arafat and said:

"I have come, O Amir al-Mu'mineen, from Kufah where I left a man
filling copies of the Qur'an from memory."

Umar became very angry and paced up and down beside his camel,
fuming.

"Who is he?" he asked.

"Abdullah ibn Masiud," replied the man.

Umar's anger subsided and he regained his composure.

"Woe to you," he said to the man. "By God, I don't know of any
person left who is more qualified in this matter than he is. Let me
tell you about this." Umar continued:

"One night the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, was havmg a
conversation with Abu Bakr about the situation of Muslims. I was
with them. When the Prophet left, we left with him also and as we
passed through the mosque, there was a man standing in Prayer whom
we did not recognise. The Prophet stood and listened to him, then
turned to us and said, 'Whoever wants to read the Qur'an as fresh as
when it was revealed, then let him read according to the recitation
of Ibn Umm Abd.'

After the Prayer, as Abdullah sat making supplications, the Prophet,
peace be on him, said, "Ask and it will be given to you. Ask and it
will be given to you."

Umar continued: "I said to myselfÑI shall go to Abdullah ibn Mas'ud
straight away and tell him the good news of the Prophet's ensuring
acceptance of his supplications. I went and did so but found that
Abu Bakr had gone before me and conveyed the good news to him. By
God, I have never yet beaten Abu Bakr in the doing of any good."

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud attained such a knowledge of the Qur'an that he
would say, "By Him besides Whom there is no god, no verse of the
book of God has been revealed without my knowing where it was
revealed and the circumstances of its revelation. By God, if I know
there was anyone who knew more of the Book of Allah, I will do
whatever is in my power to be with him."

Abdullah was not exaggerating in what he said about himself. Once
Umar ibn al-Khattab met a caravan on one of his Journeys as caliph.
It was pitch dark and the caravan could not be seen properly. Umar
ordered someone to hail the caravan. It happened that Abdullah ibn
Mas'ud was in it.

"From where do you come?" asked Umar.

"From a deep valley," came the reply. (The expresion used fadj amiqÑ
deep valleyÑis a Qur'anic one).

"And where are you going?" asked Umar.

"To the ancient house," came the reply. (The _expression used al-bayt
al-atiqÑthe ancient houseÑis a Qur'anic one.)

"There is a learned person (alim) among them," said Umar and he
commanded someone to ask the person:

"Which part of the Qur'an is the greatest?"

" 'God. There is no god except Him, the Living, the Selfsubsisting.
Neither slumber overtakes Him nor sleep,' " replied the person
answering, quoting the Ayat al-Kursi (the verse of the Throne).

"Which part of the Qur'an is the most clear on justice?"

" 'God commands what is just and fair, the feeding of
relatives . . .' " came the answer.

"What is the most comprehensive statement of the Qur'an?" " 'Whoever
does an atom's weight of good shall see it, and whoever does an
atom's weight of evil shall see it.' "

"Which part of the Qur'an gives rise to the greatest hope?"

" 'Say, O my servants who have wasted their resources, do not
despair of the mercy of God. Indeed, God forgives all sins. He is
the Forgiving, the Compassionate.' "

Thereupon Umar asked: "Is Abdullah ibn Masiud among you?"

"Yes, by God," the men in the caravan replied.

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud was not only a reciter of the Qur'an, a learned
man or a fervent worshipper. He was in addition a strong and
courageous fighter, one who became deadly serious when the occasion
demanded it.

The companions of the Prophet were together one day in Makkah. They
were still few in number, weak and oppressed. They said, "The
Quraysh have not yet heard the Qur'an being recited openly and
loudly. Who is the man who could recite it for them?"

"I shall recite it for them," volunteered Abdullah ibn Mas'ud.

"We are afraid for you," they said. "We only want someone who has a
clan who would protect him from their

"Let me," Abdullah ibn Mas'ud insisted, "Allah shall protect me and
keep me away from their evil." He then went out to the mosque until
he reached Maqam Ibrahim (a few metres from the Ka'bah). It was dawn
and the Quraysh were sitting around the Ka'bah. Abdullah stopped at
the Maqam and began to recite:

" 'Bismillahir Rahmani-r Rahim. ArRahman. Allama-l | Qur'an. Khalaqa-
l insan. Allamahu-l bayan . . . (In the | name of God, the
Beneficent, the Merciful. The Merciful s God. He has taught the
Qur'an. He has created man and taught him the clear truth . . .)' "

He went on reciting. The Quraysh looked at him intently and some of
them asked:

"What is Ibn Umm Abd saying?"

"Damn him! He is reciting some of what Muhammad brought!" they
realized.

They went up to him and began beating his face as he continued
reciting. When he went back to his companions, the blood was flowing
from his face.

"This is what we feared for you," they said.

"By God," replied Abdullah, "the enemies of God are not more
comfortable than I at this moment. If you wish. I shall go out
tomorrow and do the same."

"You have done enough," they said. "You have made them hear what
they dislike."

Abdullah ibn Masiud lived to the time of Khalifah Uthman, may God be
pleased with him. When he was sick and on his death-bed, Uthman came
to visit him and said:

"What is your ailment?"

"My sins."

"And what do you desire?"

"The mercy of my Lord."

"Shall I not give you your stipend which you have refused to take
for years now?"

"I have no need of it."

"Let it be for your doughters after you."

"Do you fear poverty for my children? I have commanded them to read
Surah Al-Waqi'ah every night for I have heard the Prophet
saying, 'Whoever reads Al-Waqi'ah every night shall ot be effected
by poverty ever.'"

That night, Abdullah passed away to the company of his Lord, his
toughte moist with the rememberance of God and with the recitation
of the verses of His Book.

"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