Hidāyat al-Ḥayārā - Ibn al-Qayyim - (الكتاب/289)

Hidāyat al-ḤayārāIbn al-Qayyim

Muhammad to be the finest of the hearts of His servants, so He chose him and dispatched him with His message. Then He looked into the hearts of the servants ⦗1⦘ after the heart of Muhammad ﷺ and found the hearts of his Companions ⦗2⦘ to be the finest hearts among His servants; so He appointed them the ministers of His Prophet ⦗3⦘.

Ibn ʿAbbās, commenting on the Almighty’s words, “Say: All praise belongs to Allah, and peace be upon His servants whom He has chosen” (al-Naml 27:59), said, “They are the Companions of Muhammad ﷺ.” ⦗4⦘

Ibn Masʿūd said, “If anyone among you wishes to follow a way, let him follow the way of those who have passed away, for the living are not safe from trial. They are the Companions of Muhammad—the people with the purest hearts in this community, the deepest in knowledge, and the least affected by pretension. Allah chose them to establish His religion and to accompany His Prophet, so acknowledge their due status and hold fast to their guidance, for they were upon the straight path.” ⦗5⦘

⦗6⦘ Moreover, Allah—exalted be He—praised them with a commendation He has not granted to any other nation. He said: “Thus We have made you a middle nation” (al-Baqarah 2:143), meaning a just and exemplary community. And He said: “You are the best nation ever raised for mankind: you enjoin what is right—” (Āl ʿImrān 3:110).

(1) In manuscripts G and S the words “wa-istafa min baʿd” (and then He chose others) appear after this phrase. (2) Absent from manuscript D. (3) Reported by Imam Ahmad, 1/379. Al-Haythami comments: “It is narrated by Ahmad, al-Bazzar and al-Tabarani in al-Kabir; its transmitters are reliable.” See Majmaʿ al-Zawaʾid, 1/177. (4) Transmitted by al-Tabari, 20/2; cf. Tafsir al-Baghawi, 2/409, and Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 3/370. (5) Recorded by Abu Nuʿaym in Hilyat al-Awliyaʾ, from a statement of ʿAbd Allah b. ʿUmar, 1/305. See also Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya, 20/433 (ed. Dr. al-Turki). (6) The Dar al-Qalam edition omits the text until the words “qala al-Shafiʿi,” p. 291.

محمدٍ خَيْرَ قلوب العبادِ، فاصطفاه وبعثَهُ برسالتِهِ، ثم نَظَر في قلوبِ العبادِ (١) بَعْدَ قلبِ محمدٍ ﷺ، فَوَجَد (قلوبَ أصحابهِ) (٢) خَيْرَ قلوبِ العبادِ، فَجُعِلُوا وُزَرَاءَه (٣). وقال ابنُ عبَّاسٍ في قوله تعالى: ﴿قُلِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَسَلَامٌ عَلَى عِبَادِهِ الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَى﴾ [النمل: ٥٩] قال: هم أصحابُ محمد ﷺ (٤). وقال ابنُ مسعودٍ: من كان منكم مُسْتَنًّا فليستَنَّ بمَنْ قد ماتَ؛ فإنَّ الحيَّ لا يُؤْمَنُ عليه الفِتْنَةُ، أولئك أصحابُ محمدٍ، أَبَرُّ هذه الأمة قلوبًا، وأعْمَقُها علمًا، وأقلُّها تكلُّفًا، قومٌ اختارهم الله لإقامةِ دينِه وصُحْبَةِ نبيِّه، فاعْرِفُوا لهم حقَّهم، وتَمسَّكُوا بِهَدْيهم؛ فإنَّهم كانوا على الهدى المستقيم (٥). وقد (٦) أثنى اللهُ -سبحانه- عليهم بما لم يُثْنِهِ على أمةٍ من الأمم سواهم، فقال تعالى: ﴿وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا﴾ أي عُدولًا خيارًا. وقال تعالى: ﴿كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ

(١) في "غ، ص" بعدها: "واصطفى من بعد". (٢) ساقط من "د". (٣) أخرجه الإمام أحمد: (١/ ٣٧٩). قال الهيثمي: "رواه أحمد والبزار والطبراني في الكبير ورجاله موثقون". انظر: "مجمع الزوائد": (١/ ١٧٧). (٤) رواه الطبري: (٢٠/ ٢). وانظر: "تفسير البغوي": (٢/ ٤٠٩)، "تفسير ابن كثير": (٣/ ٣٧٠). (٥) أخرجه أبو نعيم في "حلية الأولياء" من قول عبد الله بن عمر: (١/ ٣٠٥). وانظر: "البداية والنهاية" لابن كثير: (٢٠/ ٤٣٣) (تحقيق الدكتور التركي). (٦) سقط من طبعة دار القلم حتى قوله "قال الشافعي" ص (٢٩١).