Editing Companions of the Prophet (section)

{{Short description|Close friends/disciples of the Islamic prophet Muhammad}}
{{redirect|Sahabi|the surname|Sahabi (name)}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| name               = Ṣaḥāba
| other_names        = ''Companions of the Prophet''
| image              = Mohammed im kreis seiner gefährten.jpg
| religion           = [[Islam]]
| period             = Early Islamic period
[[Late antiquity]]
| successor          = [[Tabi'un|Tabi'in]]
| caption            = Muhammad and his companions ([[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] era)
}}
[[File:Shahnameh3-1.jpg|thumb|[[Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas]] leads [[Rashidun Caliphate]] forces in the [[Battle of al-Qadisiyyah]] (image {{c.|1523–1535}})]]
[[File:Khalili Collection Islamic Art mss 0152.1.1.jpg|thumb|A caravan led by [[Abd Allah ibn Jahsh]] returns from a raid by companions of Muhammad (image {{c.|1594–1595}})]]

The '''Companions of the Prophet''' ({{langx|ar|اَلصَّحَابَةُ|translit=aṣ-ṣaḥāba|lit=the companions}}) were the Muslim disciples and followers of the [[Islamic]] prophet [[Muhammad]] who saw or met him during his lifetime.<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica">{{cite book |author=Encyclopaedia Britannica |author-link=Encyclopaedia Britannica |title=Britannica Concise Encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ea-bAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA441 |year=2008 |publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. |isbn=978-1-59339-492-9 |page=441}}</ref>  The companions played a major role in Muslim battles, society, [[hadith]] narration, and governance during and after the life of Muhammad. The era of the companions began following the [[death of Muhammad]] in 632 CE, and ended in 110 AH (728 CE) when the last companion [[Abu al-Tufayl]] died.

Later Islamic scholars accepted their testimony of the words and deeds of Muhammad, the occasions on which the [[Quran]] was revealed and other important matters in [[History of Islam|Islamic history]] and practice. The testimony of the companions, as it was passed down through trusted chains of narrators (''[[Isnad|asānīd]]''), was the basis of the developing [[Islamic culture|Islamic tradition]]. From the traditions (''[[hadith]]'') of the life of Muhammad and his companions are drawn the Muslim way of life (''[[sunnah]]''), the code of conduct (''[[sharia]]'') it requires, and Islamic [[jurisprudence]] (''[[fiqh]]'').

The two largest [[Islamic schools and branches|Islamic denominations]], the [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] and [[Shia Islam|Shia]], take different approaches to weighing the value of the companions' testimonies, have different ''hadith'' collections and, as a result, have different views about the ṣaḥābah.<ref name="britannica"/>

The second generation of [[Muslims]] after the ṣaḥāba, born after the death of Muhammad, who knew at least one ṣaḥāba, are called ''[[tabi'un|Tābi'ūn]]'' (also "the successors"). The third generation of Muslims after the ''Tābi'ūn'', who knew at least one ''Tābi'', are called ''[[tabi' al-Tabi'in|tābi' al-tābi'īn]]''.<ref name="ODI-301">{{cite book |last1=Esposito |first1=John L. |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6VeCWQfVNjkC |date=2003 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |page=301 |isbn=9780195125597 |access-date=9 March 2019}}</ref> The three generations make up the ''[[salaf]]'' of Islam.