Question: What is the ruling on Cursing the Sahabas (Companions)?
Answer: All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, and his companions. Know that the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) are the best of this nation, the most virtuous and the most righteous. Allah Almighty has praised them with the best praise, and His Messenger (ﷺ) has praised them as well. There is consensus among those whose consensus is considered in this Ummah to love and respect them. Allah Almighty says:
"And the first forerunners [in the faith] among the Muhajireen (emigrants) and the Ansar (helpers) and those who followed them with good conduct—Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him, and He has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great attainment."
"Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating [in prayer], seeking bounty from Allah and [His] pleasure. Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration."
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Do not revile my companions, for if one of you were to spend the like of Mount Uhud in gold, it would not equal a handful of one of them, nor even half of it." (Narrated by Al-Bukhari from Abu Sa'id, and by Muslim from Abu Huraira and Abu Sa'id, may Allah be pleased with them.)
He also said: "The best of my Ummah is my generation, then those who follow them, then those who follow them." (As reported in Sahih Al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim from Imran ibn Husayn). There are many other authentic narrations that clearly and explicitly praise them, list their virtues both in detail and in general.
Al-Khallal narrated from Imam Ahmad that he was asked about someone who insults Abu Bakr, Umar, and Aisha (may Allah be pleased with them all), and he said: "I do not see him to be upon Islam."
Whoever insults people of such virtue, who are praised by Allah and His Messenger, is undoubtedly denying Allah and His Messenger. This must be known, and evidence should be established against them. If they repent and return to the truth, then Allah is Oft-Forgiving and Most Merciful. But if they persist in insulting them, or belittle them, and do not repent or accept the truth, then he is considered a disbeliever, astray and misleading. This has been narrated by more than one of the scholars.
This applies to one who curses them as a group and hates them. Likewise, if someone curses even one of them whose virtues are established through multiple authentic narrations, attacking them in a way that undermines their religion and integrity, this is a denial of these established narrations and an opposition to what is known in religion by necessity.
Know, may Allah protect you, that the belief of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah is loyalty to the family of the Prophet (ﷺ).
As for the Nawasib, they show loyalty to the Companions but hate the family of the Prophet (ﷺ). That is why they are called Nawasib because of their enmity towards the family of the Prophet (ﷺ).
On the other hand, the Rawafid are the opposite; they claim allegiance to the family of the Prophet, but they hate the Companions, curse them, declare them disbelievers, and criticize them.
Whoever hates the Companions, hates the religion itself, because they are the bearers of Islam and the followers of the Prophet (ﷺ). Thus, whoever hates them indeed hates Islam, and this is evidence that there is no faith in their hearts, and it is proof that they do not love Islam.
This is a great principle that Muslims must know, which is the love and respect for the Companions, for it is part of faith. Hating them or hating even one of them is a form of disbelief and hypocrisy, because loving them is part of loving the Prophet (ﷺ), and hating them is part of hating the Prophet (ﷺ).
The correct opinion is that hating the Companions is disbelief. Whoever curses them in general or hates them has disbelieved, as none would hate them except a disbeliever; they are the carriers of the Sharia.
And Allah knows best.
← Back to Questions