Sahaaba Kiraam
(The Noble Companions)

Q. What is a Sahaabi (companion)?

A. A Sahaabi is a person who saw the Holy Prophet ﷺ or had been in his company as a Believer and died as one.

Q. How many ashaab (companions) were there?

A. Thousands of people— all who came to the Holy Prophet ﷺ, became Muslims, and later died as Muslims.

Q. Are all the companions of equal rank?

A. No. Some companions are of higher rank than others, but all of them rank higher than the rest of the ummah.

Q. Who stands highest in rank among all the Muslims?

A. Four companions rank highest after our Prophet ﷺ:

• 1. Hadrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him)
• 2. Hadrat ‘Umar Faarooq (may Allah be pleased with him)
• 3. Hadrat ‘Uthmaan (may Allah be pleased with him)
• 4. Hadrat ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)

These four were the Khulafaa (successors) of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, one after the other.

Q. What is meant by khaleefah?

A. Khaleefah means “successor” — one who acts for someone in his absence. After the Prophet ﷺ passed away, Hadrat Abu Bakr was elected as the first Khaleefah. He took care of the well-being of Islam and the Muslims, just as the Prophet ﷺ did.

Hadrat ‘Umar was the second Khaleefah, Hadrat ‘Uthmaan the third, and Hadrat ‘Ali the fourth. These four are known as Khulafaa-i-Arba‘a or Khulafaa-i-Raashideen — the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs.