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8. THE POSITION OF THE ṢAḤĀBAH (1) The term ṣaḥābah )ص َحابة َ ( is derived from ṣaḥiba )ِب َ صح َ ( “to associate, to accompany, to escort, to make or become friends, to be closely associated (with someone), to keep (someone’s) company.” Its verbal noun are ṣuḥbah, ṣaḥabah, and ṣiḥabah ) صِ َحا َبة,ص َحا َبة , (صُحْ َبةmeaning “friendship, َ companionship, association.” The term ṣāḥib )صاحِب َ ( means: “companion, associate, comrade, friend, adherent, follower;” its plural are: aṣḥāb )(أَصْ َحاب, ṣaḥb )صحْ ب َ (, and ṣaḥābah (ص َحابة َ ) When we say “the ṣaḥābah” ( )الص َحابةit is meant “the Companions of the Prophet,” and for a singular person he is called “the ṣaḥābī” ()الص َحا ِبي, “the companion of the Prophet.” As the term “the ṣaḥābah” ( )الص َحابةmeans “the Companions of the Prophet (”)ﷺ, then who are they? Muslim scholars have different views, as follows: The ṣaḥābah according to the jumhūr al-‘ulamā’ (Muslim scholars in the mass) including IbnḤazm, Taymiyyah, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, and Mālik ibn Anas are: the Prophet’s contemporaries who saw him once or more than once, also any of those who heard him saying something, and neither opposing him nor rejecting his prophethood. They assert that the ṣaḥābah are those who believe in the Prophet ( )ﷺand met him, and died as believers, even though the meeting may have lasted only for a short time. Whether they report about him or not is not a condition. Here are some views about the ṣaḥābah: a. Anyone who have lived with the Prophet for at least one year or joined him in one of his campaigns he is considered a ṣaḥābī. This is the view of Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyib, who was one of the the tābi‘īn (the generation following that of the ṣaḥābah) who lived in Madīnah. This view is rejected especially by Ibn Ḥazm who maintains that there would be no limit of time and number in seeing the Prophet ()ﷺ and being in company with him to qualify as a ṣaḥābī.