Asking Allaah to be pleased with the Companions is not Bid'ah

29-5-2013 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalaam alaikum, question is regarding bidah The people of innovation question us, Why do you forbid us to recite the salaat before adhaan saying it is bidah but you yourself keep reciting dua everytime after the name of sahabee Saying May Allaah be pleased with him specifically when this was not known during the time of prophet or the time of sahabah. jazakumullaah khair
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

Regular supplication of Allaah The Almighty before Athaan is a Bid‘ah (innovation) in religion because there is no Islamic proof for it unlike saying “ may Allaah be pleased with them”, meaning the Companions. That is because not only the Quran indicated that Allaah The Almighty was pleased with them, but also the Sunnah of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and the actions of the Companions themselves indicated the same and there is a general consensus on it.

The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to supplicate Allaah The Almighty for someone of them saying: “may Allaah be pleased with you.” When Haatib (ibn Abi Balt'ah) may Allaah be pleased with him killed ‘Utbah ibn Abi Waqqaas who wounded the face of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, (in the Battle of Uhud) and he brought his head to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, supplicated Allaah The Almighty for him and said to him: “May Allaah be pleased with you, may Allaah be pleased with you.” [Al-Haakim in Al-Mustadrak and Al-Bayhaqi in As-Sunan Al-Kubra]

Also, Anas ibn Maalik may Allaah be pleased with him said: “There was a boy that no one cared about in the teaching circle of the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Once the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, wanted to stand up. He (that boy) stood up and gave the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, his sandals. Upon that the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “You have sought the Pleasure of Allaah The Almighty, may Allaah be pleased with you.” Anas may Allaah be pleased with him added: “That boy had a great status after that in Al-Madeenah.” [Al-Bayhaqi in Shu‘ab Al-Eemaan]

‘Umar may Allaah be pleased with him said: “O Abu Bakr, may Allaah be pleased with you. You have overburdened whoever came after you (i.e. it is difficult for them to do what you had done).” [At-Tabaraani in Al-Mu‘jam Al-Kabeer]

When ‘Ali may Allaah be pleased with him sent ‘Umar, may Allaah be please with him, his daughter Umm Kulthoom to see her and if he likes to take her a wife, he will marry her off to him; he (‘Umar) said to her: “Say to him, I agree - may Allaah be pleased with you.”

‘Ali entered upon ‘Umar may Allaah be pleased with them and the latter was shrouded after his death and said: “May Allaah be pleased with you. There is no one I would prefer to meet Allaah The Almighty with that which is in his record (of his actions) than this shrouded one.” [Abu Haneefah in his Musnad].

There are many reports about the Companions asking Allaah The Almighty to be pleased with each other. Moreover, there is a general consensus that it is recommended to ask Allaah The Almighty to be pleased with the Companions. It was stated in Al-Mawsoo‘ah Al-Fiqhiyyah (Fiqh Encyclopedia): “There is no disagreement among jurists regarding the recommendation of asking Allaah The Almighty to be pleased with the Companions may Allaah be pleased with them.”

The prominent scholar Bakr Abu Zayd may Allaah have mercy upon him said in Mu‘jam Al-Manaahi Al-Lafthiyyah: “There is no disagreement regarding the recommendation of asking Allaah The Almighty to be pleased with the Companions - may Allaah be pleased with them - while disagreement was reported regarding asking that for other Muslims.”

Accordingly, it becomes clear that asking Allaah The Almighty to be pleased with the Companions is legislated, unlike regular supplication of Allaah The Almighty before Athaan for it was not reported from the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, as far as we know, nor from anyone of the Companions, nor did anyone of our four great Imaams, i.e. Abu Haneefah, Maalik, Ash-Shaafi‘i and Ahmad ibn Hanbal recommend it.

Allaah Knows best.

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