Sahaba

Sahaba

The Arabic term aṣ-Ṣaḥāba (Arabic: الصحابة‎, "the companions"; from the verb صَحِبَ, "accompany", "keep company with", "associate with") refers to the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. This form is definite plural; the indefinite singular is masculine ṣaḥābiyy, feminine ṣaḥābiyyah.

Later scholars accepted their testimony of the words and deeds of Muhammad, the occasions on which the Qur'an was revealed and various important matters of Islamic history and practice. The testimony of the companions, as it was passed down through chains of trusted narrators (isnads), was the basis of the developing Islamic tradition. From the traditions (hadith) of the life of Muhammad and his companions are drawn the Muslim way of life (sunnah), the code of conduct (sharia) it requires and the jurisprudence (fiqh) by which Muslim communities should be regulated. The two largest Islamic denominations, the Sunni and Shi'a, take different approaches in weighing the value of the companions' testimony, have different hadith collections and, as a result, have different constructed views about the Sahabah.