And we loathe whoever loathes them, and whoever speaks of them without good; as for us, we mention them only with good. Loving them is a matter of religion, faith, and excellence, whereas hating them is disbelief, hypocrisy, and tyranny. We also affirm the succession to leadership after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, first of all …

Anyone who hates the Companions in fact hates the religion itself, for they were the bearers of Islam and the followers of the Chosen Prophet ﷺ. Whoever detests them has therefore detested Islam, which proves that such a person harbors no faith in his heart and that he does not truly love Islam.

In light of this, it is impermissible to delve into the disputes that arose among them; rather, one must refrain from such discussions and mention them only with good.

This is a monumental principle that every Muslim must know: loving and honoring the Companions forms part of faith, while hating them—or hating even one of them—is an act of disbelief and hypocrisy. Loving them stems from loving the Prophet ﷺ, and hating them stems from hating the Prophet ﷺ.

Having completed the discussion of what is due to the Companions in terms of love, loyalty, avoidance of hatred toward them and toward those who hate them, and abstention from meddling in what passed between them, the author turns to the question of the caliphate after the Prophet ﷺ. It is as he states, for the Prophet ﷺ appointed Abū Bakr to lead the prayer during the final days of his life, and that constituted an indication of Abū Bakr’s caliphate. Consequently, when the Companions pledged allegiance to him they said, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was pleased with you …”