Respect Due to the Sahabas (R)

So today, one of my friends posted a facebook status commenting on how we should all respect the Prophet (S)’s companions and try to learn more about them. One of my other friends commented back stating that not all Sahabis are worth respecting, and how we should first do some research on them and get all of the facts. Specifically, the debate took the example of AbuBakr (R). For those of you who are unfamiliar, here’s the story in a nutshell:

After the Prophet’s (S) death, Fatima (R) went and asked Abu Bakr  (R) to give her the inheritance that the Prophet (S) left for her. Abu Bakr (R) refused because he remembered that the Prophet (S) had told him that Prophets don’t leave inheritances. After much going back and forth, Fatima (R) eventually got so angry, that she refused to talk to Abu Bakr (R) for the rest of her life. She died 6 months later, and Ali (R) buried her by himself, and didn’t even inform the Caliph (Abu Bakr [R]) about his wife’s death.

Now using this example, my friend made the point of stating that how can we respect someone who made the most beloved daughter of Rasulallah  (S) so angry?

Here’s my two cents:

I think first, we all need to remember one important thing. The Prophets and the Sahabis were all human, not angels! That being said, humans make mistakes! We all have our Achilles’ heals! Humans aren’t perfect! When we try to follow someone, we should focus on their good qualities, not the few negative qualities/instances that they went through!

True, all of the above did happen, and there was an argument between Abu Bakr (R) and Fatima (R), but at the end of the day, BOTH were the some of the most beloved of the Prophet (S)! Fatima (R) was the Prophet’s flesh and blood, and as everyone knows, his favorite daughter. And Abu Bakr (R) was a companion of the Prophet since childhood, and also so loved by Allah (Swt) that he was even mentioned in the Qur’an! Now who are we to pick and choose between Sahabas!?!? I’m sure each and every one of us could learn way more than one lesson from both of these people. If any of us were anywhere near as good as either one….Subhanallah, even thinking of the possibility is enough to give a person chills.

My point- ALL of the Sahabis deserve respect. If you love the Prophet (S), than you love who he loved. It’s as simple as that. No ifs, no buts. When you love someone, you follow him or her with no questions asked. And this is a lesson we can learn from Abu Bakr (R)- he was the man who never questioned Rasulallah (S), but instead heed his every word. When Rasulallah (S) came down and told the world about Barak, the Kufar of Mecca teased him mercilessly, even some of the Muslims were a little hesitant. But the second Abu Bakr found out, he said (and I’m paraphrasing here), “If Muhammad (S) sais it’s true, than it must be true.” I mean, Subhanallah! We don’t even listen to our own parents like that, and look how much love he (and other Sahabis) had for the Prophet! Mashallah! Shouldn’t we all be trying to reach that level of Iman? Instead of arguing about small incidents and occurrences, we should be looking at the bigger picture--- a select group of men and women were left to us to look up to. So what should we do? Look up to them! There’s a reason Allah (Swt) made the Sahaba’s stories survive through the generations. If we can’t be like the Prophet (S), than we should try to be like those who were closest to them- the Sahabas.

That being said, I think we should all try to learn more about the Sahabas. Learn there good and bad- both are helpful. Learn their good qualities, and try to gain those qualities as well. And also look at their bad qualities- did the Sahabis do anything particular in order to control themselves? Who knows, maybe we’ll finally find an answer to all the problems we have! For example, everyone knows how Umar (R) had a really bad temper. Well, do you have a bad temper? Find instances of when his temper got the better of him. What did the Prophet say to him? How did Umar (R) control his anger? In these ways, Inshallah we can all become better Muslims.

Also, one more thing. We all pray to be with the Prophet in Jannah (Inshallah). Well, who do we know who are almost guaranteed a seat by him? His Sahabis. If we don’t respect the Sahabis, than do you really think we deserve to be by them in Jannah?