Baʿṭan. In so doing he exalted Islam, humbled disbelief and its followers, raised aloft the banner of the pure monotheistic religion, and blocked every avenue that might lead to loosening the bonds of Islam. Throughout, he obeyed Allah and His Messenger, stopped where the Book of Allah required him to stop, carried out the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—followed the path of his two companions, and sought counsel in his affairs from the earliest forerunners to the faith, such as: ʿUthmān, ʿAlī, Ṭalḥah, al-Zubayr, Saʿd, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, Ubayy ibn Kaʿb, Muʿādh ibn Jabal, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd, Zayd ibn Thābit—may Allah be pleased with them all—and others possessed of knowledge, understanding, sound judgment, or sincere counsel for Islam and its people.
(1) This wording appears in a hadith that both al-Bukhari and Muslim transmit from Abdullah ibn Umar, who said: “I saw in a dream that I was drawing water with a bakrah-bucket (a bucket attached to a pulley) from a well. Then Abu Bakr came and drew one or two bucketfuls, but his drawing was weak—may Allah pardon him. After that Umar ibn al-Khattab came and the bucket turned into a gharb, a very large bucket; I have never seen any stalwart equal his performance, until the people had all drunk and watered their animals.” See: Sahih al-Bukhari, “Merits of the Companions,” chapter “The Virtues of Umar ibn al-Khattab,” hadith no. 3682 (Fath al-Bari, 7:41); Sahih Muslim, “Merits of the Companions,” chapter “The Virtues of Umar,” hadith no. 2393 (3:1862).
(2) The At manuscript reads: fa-atad.
(3) The printed edition reads: shaʿaʾir.
(4) The printed edition reads: nuzuʿ.
(5) The eminent Companion referred to here is Talhah ibn Ubayd Allah ibn Amr ibn Kaʿb al-Qurashi al-Taymi, Abu Muhammad: one of the ten promised Paradise, one of the first eight converts, one of the five who accepted Islam through Abu Bakr, one of the six members of the shura named by Umar, and one of the few who remained steadfast with the Messenger of Allah at Uhud, shielding him from arrows with his hand until it became paralyzed. He was struck by an arrow on the Day of the Camel; the bleeding continued until he died—may Allah be pleased with him—in 36 AH at the age of sixty-four. See: al-Isabah, 2:229–30, no. 4266.
The biographies of the other Companions mentioned here have already been given; consult the Index of Names.