The four rightly guided caliphs
Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali led the ummah after the Prophet ﷺ, in that order, and Ahl al-Sunnah rank them in virtue in the same order.
Abu Bakr al-Siddiq
The Prophet's ﷺ closest friend, the first free man to accept Islam, his companion in the cave and the first caliph.
Umar ibn al-Khattab
Al-Faruq, whose Islam made the Muslims strong. The second caliph, who opened Jerusalem and began the Hijri calendar.
Uthman ibn Affan
Dhun-Nurayn, the man of two lights, married to two daughters of the Prophet ﷺ. The third caliph, who gave the ummah one standard copy of the Quran.
Ali ibn Abi Talib
The Prophet's ﷺ cousin, raised in his home, the first child to accept Islam, husband of Fatimah and the fourth caliph.
Mothers of the Believers
The wives of the Prophet ﷺ are the mothers of the believers (33:6). Two have full pages here, and all eleven are on one page.
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
The first wife of the Prophet ﷺ and the first person to believe in him. Allah sent her His greeting of peace through Jibril.
Aishah bint Abi Bakr
Daughter of Abu Bakr, wife of the Prophet ﷺ and one of the greatest scholars of Islam. Allah declared her innocence in the Quran.
All the Mothers of the Believers
The eleven wives of the Prophet ﷺ, each with her lineage, marriage, virtues and death.
More Companions
Bilal ibn Rabah
The Abyssinian slave who said "Ahad, Ahad" under torture, was freed by Abu Bakr, and became the first muezzin of Islam.
Saad ibn Abi Waqqas
The Prophet's ﷺ maternal relative, the first to shoot an arrow in Allah's cause, whose prayers were answered, and the victor of al-Qadisiyyah.
Khalid ibn al-Walid
The commander who turned the battle at Uhud against the Muslims, then accepted Islam and was named a sword of the swords of Allah.
Abu Hurairah
The Companion who narrated more hadith than any other. He came to Madinah in 7 AH and never left the Prophet's ﷺ side.
Who the Sahaba are
A sahabi (companion) is anyone who met the Prophet ﷺ while believing in him and died as a Muslim. Read the full definition, their rank in the Quran and how Muslims treat them on Sahaba meaning.
وَٱلسَّٰبِقُونَ ٱلْأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ ٱلْمُهَٰجِرِينَ وَٱلْأَنصَارِ وَٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّبَعُوهُم بِإِحْسَٰنٍۢ رَّضِىَ ٱللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا۟ عَنْهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّٰتٍۢ تَجْرِى تَحْتَهَا ٱلْأَنْهَٰرُ خَٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَدًۭا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ ﴿١٠٠﴾
Was saabiqoonal awwa loona minal Muhaajireena wal Ansaari wallazeenat taba'oo hum bi ihsaanir radiyal laahu 'anhum wa radoo 'anhu wa a'adda lahum jannnaatin tajree tahtahal anhaaru khaalideena feehaaa abadaa; zaalikal fawzul 'azeem
And the first forerunners [in the faith] among the Muhajireen and the Ansar and those who followed them with good conduct - Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him, and He has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great attainment.
Quran 9:100 · Sahih International · Read Surah At-Tawbah
The Prophet ﷺ said: "Do not abuse my Companions. If one of you spent gold equal to Uhud, it would not reach a handful of what one of them gave, nor half of it" (Sahih al-Bukhari 3673). Ahl al-Sunnah love all of them, speak of them with respect, and hold that the differences between them after the Prophet ﷺ were matters of ijtihad. For the events they lived through, see the seerah and the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ life timeline.
After the Companions
The next people on this page lived long after the Sahaba. They are here because people look for them alongside the Companions, and their lives show what the Companions' example meant to later Muslims. They were not Companions.
Questions
Who are the Sahaba?
The Sahaba are the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ: everyone who met him while believing in him and died as a Muslim, men and women, young and old.
Who was the greatest Sahabi?
Ahl al-Sunnah hold that the best of the Companions is Abu Bakr, then Umar, then Uthman, then Ali. In the Prophet's ﷺ lifetime the Companions ranked them this way (Bukhari 3655).
Who are the ten promised Paradise?
Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Talhah, al-Zubayr, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, Saad ibn Abi Waqqas, Said ibn Zayd and Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah (Tirmidhi 3747, graded sahih).
How many Sahaba were there?
No exact count exists. Abu Zurah al-Razi is reported to have said that more than a hundred thousand people saw and heard the Prophet ﷺ. Ibn Hajar's al-Isabah has entries for over twelve thousand by name.
Was Salahuddin a Sahabi?
No. He lived in the 12th century CE, more than five centuries after the Prophet ﷺ. He is listed separately here under After the Companions.
Sources
- Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, al-Isabah fi Tamyiz al-Sahabah.
- Ibn Abd al-Barr, al-Isti'ab fi Ma'rifat al-Ashab.
- al-Dhahabi, Siyar Alam al-Nubala.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3655 and 3673; Jami at-Tirmidhi 3747 (graded sahih).
- Each Companion's page lists its own hadith sources.
- Quran: Arabic from the Tanzil Uthmani text, transliteration from Tanzil, English by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic is the standard wording of the collection named; gradings are given for every hadith outside al-Bukhari and Muslim.