10 companions who are guaranteed Paradise
The Prophet s.a.w said:
“خَيْرُ النَّاسِ قَرْنِي ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ
ثُمَّ يَجِيءُ قَوْمٌ تَسبِقُ شَهَادَة أحدِهمْ يَمِينه وَيَمِينه شَهَادَته”
“The best of men are my generation, then those who come next to them, then those who come next to them. Afterwards people will come who will give testimony before swearing an oath and swear an oath before giving testimony.”
(Narrated by Imam Bukhari and Muslim – Authentic)
The first part of the hadith tells us that the best of men are the companions, who lived during Prophet Muhammad’s era. That generation is considered the best generation as they were the closest to Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. They received Islamic teachings directly from the source thus, they understood his teachings best. Their unwavering commitment to uphold Islam and defend the Prophet s.a.w, according to history, could never be topped by anyone else. Therefore, it is most justified and deserved that they be considered as the best generation.
However, among those extraordinary people are 10 companions who were explicitly mentioned by the Prophet s.a.w that they were guaranteed paradise. They were given the name ‘Asharah Mubashireen Biljannah’ which means ‘The Ten who are guaranteed Paradise’. They are:
- Abu Bakr as-Siddiq
- Umar Ibn al-Khattab
- ‘Uthman Ibn Affan
- ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib
- Talha Ibn ‘Ubaidillah
- Zubair Ibn al-’Awwam
- Sa’ad Ibn Abi Waqqas
- ‘Abdur-rahman Ibn ‘Auf
- Sa’eed Ibn Zaid
- Abu ‘Ubaidah ‘Aamir Ibn al-Jarrah
It creates a sense of wonder as to what makes these 10 companions so special that they were granted this entitlement and privilege. In this series, let us dive briefly into the biography of each and every one of them to understand the reason behind this honour given to them.
- Abu Bakr as-Siddiq r.a
His name is Abdullah Bin Abi Quhafah. He was the first man to embrace Islam after the appointment of Muhammad s.a.w as a prophet. When Prophet Muhammad s.a.w informed him about the revelation when he was in Cave Hira’, and the message that the religion required the people to worship Allah s.w.t alone and leave the worship of statues, Abu Bakr immediately, and without hesitation, believed him. His embracing of Islam greatly influenced a number of significant companions to follow his footsteps such as Zubair Ibn Al-Awwam, ‘Uthman Ibn Affan, Talha Ibn Ubaidillah and ‘Abdurrahman Ibn ‘Auf r.a. They embraced Islam shortly after, by his hands.
During the event of Isra’ Mi’raj, the Prophet s.a.w was brought to Al-Aqsa from Mekkah, was brought up to the seven skies and returned, all in a night. When he recounted the incident to the people of Mekkah, most of them had their doubts. However, when the news came to Abu Bakr r.a, he immediately said, “If Muhammad is the one saying this, then he is telling the truth”. He was thus called As-Siddiq due to his profound honesty and also due to his absolute trust towards Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.
Abu Bakr as-Siddiq was a very wealthy man. On top of that, he was exceedingly generous. When Prophet Muhammad s.a.w went out with Abu Bakr r.a for their hijrah to Madinah, Abu Bakr r.a brought all of his money for the sake of Allah s.w.t, to expense their migration journey. According to his daughter, Asma’ r.a, the amount was around 5-6 thousand. It was not stated whether it was dinar or dirham. Nevertheless, it was still a massive amount. No one could match his generosity.
He was also blessed by being referred to in the Quran in surah at-Tawbah. Allah s.w.t says:
إِلَّا تَنصُرُوهُ فَقَدْ نَصَرَهُ ٱللَّهُ إِذْ أَخْرَجَهُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ثَانِىَ ٱثْنَيْنِ إِذْ هُمَا فِى ٱلْغَارِ إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَـٰحِبِهِۦ لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَنَا ۖ
(It does not matter) if you (believers) do not support him (Prophet Muhammad s.a.w), for Allah did in fact support him when the disbelievers drove him out (of Mecca) and he was only one of two. While they both were in the cave, he reassured his companion, “Do not worry; Allah is certainly with us.”
Surah At-Tawbah: 9:40
The other person Allah s.w.t is referring to is none other than Abu Bakr r.a. It is definitely the highest honour for any mankind to be mentioned and praised in the Quran. The Prophet s.a.w also commended him in the highest regard. A part of his saying in a long hadith:
“إِنَّ مِنْ أَمَنِّ النَّاسِ عَلَىَّ فِي صُحْبَتِهِ وَمَالِهِ أَبَا بَكْرٍ، وَلَوْ كُنْتُ مُتَّخِذًا خَلِيلاً غَيْرَ رَبِّي لاَتَّخَذْتُ أَبَا بَكْرٍ”
“The person who has favored me most of all both with his company and wealth, is Abu Bakr. If I were to take a Khalil (close companion) other than my Lord, I would have taken Abu Bakr as such.”
(Narrated by Imam Bukhari – Authentic)
Even the companions knew that Abu Bakr r.a was the most beloved man to Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. ‘Umar Ibn Khattab once said:
أَبُو بَكْرٍ سَيِّدُنَا وَخَيْرُنَا وَأَحَبُّنَا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم
“Abu Bakr is our chief, and the best of us, and the most beloved of us to the Messenger of Allah s.a.w.”
(Narrated by At-Tirmidhi – Authentic)
All of these serve as a testament to Abu Bakr’s r.a status in the eyes of Allah s.w.t and the Prophet s.a.w.
It was beyond any doubt that he became the first caliph after the demise of the Prophet s.a.w and was one of the four ‘Khulafa Ar-Rashidun’ (Rightly-Guided Caliphs). His appointment as the first caliph was a result of the companions’ agreement. It was also agreed upon that Abu Bakr r.a was the best man after the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. His tenure lasted around 2 years.
He was one of the companions who initiated the gathering of all the verses of the Quran etched in writings or memorised by the companions to be put between two covers (to make it as a book). That initiative led to the Mushaf we have today. These are just some of the many examples that show how noble and virtuous Abu Bakr r.a was and determine his status as someone who is guaranteed paradise.
2. Umar Ibn Al-Khattab r.a
‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab r.a was the second caliph after the demise of Abu Bakr r.a. Unlike Abu Bakr r.a, ‘Umar did not embrace Islam shortly after Muhammad s.a.w became a prophet. In fact, he was a staunch enemy of Islam. He was a cruel, hard-hearted and harsh man. However, Allah s.w.t, with his wisdom, guided him to the right path. His immense animosity towards Islam led him to intending to kill the Prophet s.a.w. He was on his way to kill the Prophet s.a.w, with his sword in his hand, when a man told him that his sister and her husband had embraced Islam. He went straight home and found that his sister was reading the Quran. Upon seeing that, and due to his harsh nature, he slapped his sister and blood started to trickle on her face, which eventually caused his heart to soften. He then read the Quran, out of curiosity, which was the first 5 verses of Surah Taha and was immediately soothed by it. Not long after, he went to the Prophet s.a.w and declared his Shahaadah (Declaration of Faith). His embracing of Islam was a major achievement for the Muslim community as the Prophet s.a.w once said:
“اللَّهُمَّ أَعِزَّ الإِسْلاَمَ بِأَحَبِّ هَذَيْنِ الرَّجُلَيْنِ إِلَيْكَ بِأَبِي جَهْلٍ أَوْ بِعُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ”
“O Allah! Honor Islam through the most dear of these two men to you: Through Abu Jahl or through ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab.”
(Narrated by At-Tirmidhi – Hasan)
Allah s.w.t answered his prayer by guiding ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab into embracing Islam. The fact that the Prophet s.a.w explicitly mentioned his name in his prayer and hoped that one of the two would embrace Islam, showed how crucial ‘Umar r.a was in elevating the status of Islam. He then became the second best man after the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.
Despite his harsh nature, he was an exemplary leader who cared greatly about the community’s welfare. He was at the forefront of the muslims, always ready to defend the Prophet s.a.w against any immorality, voluntarily lending a helping hand to those in need, and spending his wealth for the sake of Allah s.w.t.
His bravery too was beyond imagination. When the muslims in Makkah wanted to migrate to Madinah, they did so as discreetly as possible to avoid confrontation with the people of Quraysh. On top of that, the people of Quraysh would cause the muslims harm should they know that they were intending to migrate. The animosity of the people of Quraysh towards the muslims was so severe that they were forced to migrate cautiously. ‘Umar, however, upon deciding to migrate, took his sword, his bow and some arrows and went to the Kaa’bah. Some of the people of Quraysh were gathering there. He performed tawaaf for 7 rounds and prayed 2 rakaat before announcing to the public regarding his intent to migrate. He challenged them to stop him from migrating and even threatened them. That was the bravery that he possessed.
His unwavering faith was so strong that even the Shaytaan was scared of him. The Prophet s.a.w once said:
“إِيهٍ يَا ابْنَ الْخَطَّابِ، وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ مَا لَقِيَكَ الشَّيْطَانُ سَالِكًا فَجًّا إِلاَّ سَلَكَ فَجًّا غَيْرَ فَجِّكَ”
“O Ibn Al-Khattab! By Him in Whose Hands my life is, whenever Satan sees you taking a way, he follows a way other than yours!”
(Narrated by Imam Bukhari – Authentic)
His status in the eyes of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w was no lesser than that of Abu Bakr r.a. It was narrated that there was a time when ‘Umar r.a wanted to perform Umrah and he asked the permission of the Prophet s.a.w. The reply given to him was unexpected. The Prophet s.a.w said:
”لا تنسنا يا أخي من دعائك” فقال كلمة ما يسرني أن لي بها الدنيا
“Dear brother! Do not forget us in your supplications”. (‘Umar added), “This is something I would not exchange for the whole world”.
(Narrated by Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi – Authentic)
That may be the greatest honour one could ever have; The Prophet s.a.w referring to him as a ‘brother’ and asking him to include the Prophet s.a.w in his supplications. ‘Umar was ecstatic that he would not trade that sentence with anything else in the world. That is an understandable sentiment, considering the fact that the best mankind, the Prophet s.a.w, had asked ‘Umar to include him in his supplication, when in fact, it should be the other way round. This also shows the level of respect and love the Prophet s.a.w had towards ‘Umar r.a.
After the demise of the Prophet s.a.w, a war broke out between the muslims and those who left the religion and opposed Islam. As a result, a significant number of muslims who memorised the Quran were unfortunately martyred. This became a concern for ‘Umar r.a as he was worried that the verses of the Quran would vanish as more companions passed away. He consulted Abu Bakr r.a regarding this and after a few discussions, Abu Bakr r.a agreed and, with the help of Zaid Ibn Thabit r.a, the verses of the Quran were compiled into a single book. This, amongst others, was one of his greatest legacy for this ummah.
Umar r.a. was also the person who determined that the Islamic calendar is based upon the HIjrah (migration) of the Prophet s.a.w. to Madinah.
3. ‘Uthman Ibn ‘Affan r.a
‘Uthman Ibn ‘Affan r.a was the third caliph to govern the Muslim community after the demise of the Prophet s.a.w. He was also the fifth man to embrace Islam. His embracing of Islam caused anger and enmity from the people of Quraysh as he was once a respectable and beloved figure among them. They were worried that this news will lead to a large number of youths embracing Islam as well, to follow in his footsteps. Due to this, he was tortured severely by none other than his own uncle and was forced to leave Islam. However, ‘Uthman r.a endured the continuous barbarous torture for the sake of Allah s.w.t, to a point where his uncle gave up and left him be.
He was married to Ruqayyah r.a, the daughter of the Prophet s.a.w. However, one day, she was terminally ill and passed away. The Prophet s.a.w was extremely grieved by this unfortunate news. Out of empathy towards ‘Uthman, he allowed him to marry his other daughter, Ummu Kulthum r.a. Thus, he was given the title ‘Dzunnurain’ which translates to ‘The holder of two lights’ as he was the only man to have been married to two daughters of the Prophet s.a.w.
He was a wealthy man and like Abu Bakr r.a, his great amount of wealth did not distract him from manifesting the true purpose of life; To worship Allah s.w.t and prepare for the hereafter. Rasulullah s.a.w once said:
مَنْ يَشْتَرِي بِئْرَ رُومَةَ فَيَجْعَلُ فِيهَا دَلْوَهُ مَعَ دِلاَءِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ بِخَيْرٍ لَهُ مِنْهَا فِي الْجَنَّةِ؟
“Who will buy the well of Rumah and dip his bucket in it alongside the buckets of the Muslims, in return for a better one in Paradise?”
(Narrated by An-Nasa’i – Hasan)
The well of Rumah was a well with drinkable water used by the people of Madinah, owned by a person of another faith, who limited the usage for the muslims. Therefore, even the Prophet s.a.w did not have access to clean water for drinking. When the Prophet s.a.w asked his companions if anyone was able to purchase the well, in return for a better one in paradise, ‘Uthman stood up and went to buy the well from the person. The said person decided to sell half of the well for a significant amount of money that was enough to serve as a capital for 5 businessmen at that time. Despite the large cost, ‘Uthman r.a decided to purchase it for the sake of Allah s.w.t and so that the muslims had access to clean water. This is also majorly due to the fact that he knew the reward in paradise would be far more valuable than the money he had in this world.
Allah s.w.t says in the Quran:
أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَـٰنِتٌ ءَانَآءَ ٱلَّيْلِ سَاجِدًۭا وَقَآئِمًۭا يَحْذَرُ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةَ وَيَرْجُوا۟ رَحْمَةَ رَبِّهِۦ
“(Are they better) or those who worship (their Lord) devoutly in the hours of the night, prostrating and standing, fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of their Lord?”
(Surah AZ-Zumar 39:9)
According to Ibn ‘Umar r.a., this verse is referring to ‘Uthman r.a. He spent his night worshipping Allah s.w.t, realising his true purpose as a servant of Allah s.w.t. Despite being a wealthy leader, who might be busy during the day and exhausted when evening comes, ‘Uthman r.a still stood up for prayer in the middle of the night.
He was the companion who compiled the Quran into one official document and up to date, it is called ‘Mushaf ‘Uthmani’ or ‘Rasm ‘Uthmani’. It is a fact that the Quran has been compiled during the time of Abu Bakr r.a. However, as time progressed, Islam reached more nations and more non-arabic speakers started to embrace Islam. Subsequently, their recitation of the quran was not as precise and authentic, and the quran was written according to their recitations respectively. As a result, there were different variations of the Quran worldwide, though some of them were still sound to be read. However, ‘Uthman was concerned that this would cause distortion and change to the original words of the Quran.
‘Uthman asked Zaid Ibn Thabit r.a to gather the original compilation of the Quran, which was done during Abu Bakr’s r.a era, and to write it down in a single book to be distributed across the nations so that there will be only one official Quran. He then burned all the other variations of the Quran to avoid confusion. That official Quran is the Quran that we are using today and it is called ‘Mushaf ‘Uthmani’.
The story of his demise was a heartbreaking yet a fascinating one. One of the munafiqeen (the hypocrites) named ‘Abdullah Ibn Saba’, who terribly hated Islam, slandered ‘Uthman and spread lies about him. Some people, including the muslims, believed him, especially the newer ones who did not know the status of ‘Uthman that well. They surrounded his house and deprived him of food and water. The predicament lasted for some time but ‘Uthman r.a stayed patient and endured it. Until one point of time, before ‘Uthman passed away, he dreamt about the Prophet s.a.w, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar r.a. In his dream, the Prophet s.a.w asked him to break his fast with them. Coincidentally, he was fasting that day and was killed on the same day, while he was reading the Quran. His dream was a sign that he would meet the Prophet s.a.w and the companions before sunset, allowing him to ‘break his fast’ with them. His caliphate lasted for 12 years.
4. ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib r.a
‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib r.a embraced Islam when he was 10 years old. He was considered the first kid to have embraced Islam. Before that, at a time when idol-worshipping was prevalent, he had never worshipped one. The first time he worshipped a god, it was Allah s.w.t. Thus, he was given the title ‘Karramallahu wajhah’ which translates to ‘May Allah s.w.t honour him’. He was also brought up in the house of the Prophet s.a.w, receiving prophetic upbringing throughout his childhood, and learning prophetic manners and conduct along the way. He was married to the Prophet’s s.a.w daughter, Fatimah Az-Zahra r.a.
His faith and love for the Prophet s.a.w was unimaginable for a young kid like him. One night, when the Prophet s.a.w decided to migrate, Ali r.a was asked to sleep on the Prophet’s bed and wear his clothes. At that time, the Prophet s.a.w. was under the watchful eyes of the non-Muslims, who stood ready to block his migration. The purpose of asking Ali r.a to sleep on his bed was to ensure that a figure could still be seen inside his house and to trick the non-muslims into believing that the Prophet s.a.w was still in his house, while in fact, he was on his way migrating.
This was a risky move by Ali r.a as he was wagering his life for the sake of the Prophet s.a.w. The fact that the non-muslims believed that the Prophet s.a.w was on his bed, sleeping, increased the possibility of them barging in and killing him at any point of time. In other words, Ali r.a could have been killed at any point of time throughout the night. However, due to his immense faith and extensive love for the Prophet s.a.w, he was willing to risk his life conclusively for the sake of the religion and for the sake of Allah s.w.t.
‘Ali was also a great warrior. He participated in all of the battles that happened except one: the battle of Tabuk. He was asked by the Prophet s.a.w to look over the women and the children in Madinah. For his calibre as a warrior, this task was surprising. On top of that, his determination towards upholding Islam and fighting for the sake of Allah made him feel unusual. ‘Ali felt that sentiment and proceeded to question the Prophet s.a.w. The Prophet s.a.w gave him an answer which uplifted his status significantly. It was narrated:
فَقَالَ أَتُخَلِّفُنِي فِي الصِّبْيَانِ وَالنِّسَاءِ قَالَ “ أَلاَ تَرْضَى أَنْ تَكُونَ مِنِّي بِمَنْزِلَةِ هَارُونَ مِنْ مُوسَى إِلاَّ أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ نَبِيٌّ بَعْدِي ”
“Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) set out for Tabuk and appointed ‘Ali as his deputy (in Medina). ‘Ali said, “Do you want to leave me with the children and women?” The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Will you not be pleased that you will be to me like Aaron to Moses? But there will be no prophet after me.”
That was the answer given to ‘Ali r.a when he questioned about the task given to him. This was an extraordinary honour given to him as Aaron (Prophet Harun a.s) was the brother of Moses’ (Prophet Musa a.s). They stood by each other through thick and thin, especially when they confronted Fir’aun, an evil tyrant, to preach to him. When Musa a.s. had to be away for 40 days, he appointed Harun a.s. to take care of his people. The Prophet s.a.w equated the relationship between Harun and Musa to his relationship with ‘Ali r.a. There was no greater honour than to be characterised in such a manner, especially when it came from the Prophet s.a.w himself.
