The Quran lists quite a few various categories of companions (ashabu) and people (ahlu) and a reflection of them can give us some wisdom to remember who they were, why they earned their title and where they will be heading in the next life. We need to pick our friends and foes in this world wisely as the Quran has set forth these examples to show that we could end up in a labeled group which is of the highest or lowest of spiritual ranks if we are not following the path of Allah.
The Good
The one worthy of being feared. Refers to the fact that we owe Allah our fear out of love and respect. One of the two places where ahlu refers to Allah as worthy for the people and it could indicate that mankind is worthy to be his creation as he had elevated us above the jinn for the perfect and ultimate spiritual trial. [ahlu t-taqwaa, 74:56:9-10].
The one worthy to forgive. Refers to the fact that we will only be ultimately forgiven by Allah
. The other of the
two places where ahlu refers to Allah as worthy for the people. [ahlu
magfirah, 74:56:11-12].The people of the house. These are the people of the family of Prophet Abraham AS and the household of the Prophet Muhammad
. [ahlu l-bayt -
11:73:11-12 and 33:33:24-25].The people of a household. The mother of Moses
who received her son
back as Allah had promised her. [ahlu bayt, 28:12:11-12].The companions of paradise. Those who will be together in paradise in the hereafter. [ashabu l-jannah, 14 references, 2:82:6-7, 7:42:11-12, 7:44:2-3, 7:46:12-13, 7:50:4-5, 10:26:15-16, 11:23:10-11, 25:24:1-2, 36:55:2-3, 46:14:2-3, 46:16:12-13, 59:20:5-6, 59:20:8-9 and 68:17:5-6].
The companions of happiness. Those of a certain rank in paradise. [ashabu l-mashamah, 56:8:1-2, 56:8:4-5 and 90:18:2-3].
The companions of the right. Also those of a certain rank in paradise. [ashabu l-yameen, 56:27:1-2, 56:27:4-5, 56:38:1-2, 56:90:5-6, 56:91:4-5 and 74:39:2-3].
The companions of elevation. Also those of a certain rank in paradise. [ashabu l-a`raaf, 7:48:2-3].
The companions of the cave. Those who took refuge with Allah in a cave and were successful. [ashabu l-kahf, 18:9:4-5].
The companions of the sound path. Those who Allah has guided to Islam. [ashabu s-siraati s-saweey, 20:135:8-10].
The companions of the ship. Those who were saved along with Noah during the floods. [ashabu s-safiynah, 29:15:2-3].
The Bad
The people of the cities. The ones who got the messages and disbelieved in them so a punishment overtook them. [ahlu l-quraa - 7:96:3-4, 7:97:2-3, 7:98:2-3, 12:109:10-11 and 59:7:7-8].
The people of a town. They are the ones who Khidr and Musa
came to and would not
give them food before Khidr helped restore apart of the wall in their town that
was about to break. [ahlu l-qaryah - 18:77:5-6].The people of this town. The people of Lut
who were on the brink
of destruction. [ahlu hathihi l-qaryah - 29:31:9-11 and 29:34:4-6].The people of the fire. Those who will reside in the hellfire in the hereafter. [ahlu n-narr, 38:64:5-6].
The companions of the fire. Those who will be together in the hellfire in the hereafter. [ashabu n-narr, 20 references, 2:39:6-7, 2:81:9-10, 2:217:59-60, 2:257:22-23, 2:275:45-46, 3:116:15-16, 5:29:9-10, 7:36:7-8, 7:44:4-5, 7:47:6-7, 7:50:2-3, 10:27:26-27, 13:5:25-26, 39:8:36-37, 40:6:9-10, 40:43:21-22, 58:17:12-13, 59:20:3-4, 64:10:6-7 and 74:31:3-4].
The companions of hell. Those will be together in the hellfire in the hereafter. [ashabu l-jaheem, 6 references, 2:119:10-11, 5:10:6-7, 5:86:6-7, 9:113:19-20, 22:51:7-8 and 57:19:21-22].
The companions of the Sabbath. Those of the Jews who violated the Sabbath that had been decreed for them. [ashabu s-sabt, 4:47:23-24].
The companions of pessimism. Those who will be at a certain rank of the hellfire. [ashabu l-mashamah, 59:9:1-2, 56:9:4-5 and 90:19:5-6].
The companions of the left. Those who will also be at a certain rank of the hellfire. [ashabu sh-shimaal, 56:41:1-2 and 56:41:4-5].
The companions of the blaze. Those with a certain rank in the hellfire. [ahlu s-sa`eer, 35:6:13-14, 67:10:10-11 and 67:11:4-5].
The companions of the pit. Those who burned the Christians alive in a pit simply for their belief in Allah. [ahlu l-ukhdood, 85:4:2-3].
The companions of the elephant. Those who used elephants in the year before the birth of the Prophet
to attempt to
conquer Makkah but were swiftly destroyed and defeated by the help of
Allah. [ashabu l-feel, 105:1:6-7].The companions of Madyan. Those in Madyan who Moses
delivered the message
to but did not listen and were destroyed. [ashabu
l-madyan, 9:70:13-14 and 22:44:1-2].The companions of the thicket. Those who were also from Madyan and lived in the forest to whom Prophet Shuayb
was sent but were
also wrongdoers. [ashabu l-aykab, 15:78:3-4, 26:176:2-3,
38:13:4-5 and 50:14:1-2].The companions of the rock. The people who Prophet Thamud
was sent to deliver
the message and lived in dwellings carved from rock but were later destroyed
for rejecting it. [ashabu l-hijr, 15:80:3-4].The companions of the well. Another people who denied the message and were destroyed. [ashabu r-rass, 25:38:3-4 and 50:12:5-6].
The companions of the city. Those a messenger was sent to who rejected the messengers and killed one of their own people who warned them to listen before a great blast destroyed them. [ashabu l-qaryah, 36:13:4-5].
The Neutral
The people of the message. These are the people who received the previous messages from all the Prophets and Messengers. [ahlu th-thikr - 16:43:11-12 and 21:7:10-11].
The people of the book. These are the people who received the previous books most specifically the Jews with the Torah and the Christians with the Injeel (Gospel). [ahlu l-kitab, 31 references, 2:105:6-7, 2:109:4-5, 3:64:2-3, 3:65:1-2, 3:69:4-5, 3:70:1-2, 3:71:1-2, 3:72:4-5, 3:75:3-4, 3:98:2-3, 3:99:2-3, 3:110:16-17, 3:113:6-7, 3:199:3-4, 4:123:5-6, 4:153:2-3, 4:159:3-4, 4:171:1-2, 5:15:1-2, 5:19:1-2, 5:59:2-3, 5:65:3-4, 5:68:2-3, 5:77:2-3, 29:46:4-5, 33:26:5-6,57:29:3-4, 59:2:7-8, 59:11:12-13, 98:1:6-7 and 98:6:5-6].
The people of the Gospel. The Christians who were given the Injeel (Gospel). [ahlu l-injeel, 5:47:2-3].
The people of Madinah or the city. The ones who lived in Madinah and were admonished or cautioned or the city of Lut AS who came forth and then refused his warnings. [ahlu l-madinah - 9:101:8-9, 9:120:3-4 and 15:67:2-3].
The people of Yathrib. The ones who lived in Madinah and were being told to return home and be paranoid about the security of the city while they were partaking in battle with the Prophet
. [ahlu yathrib -
33:13:5-6].The people of Madyan. The ones who Moses
was sent to and
stayed for a while after he had accidentally killed a man as opposed to the
companions of Madyan who were the ones who refused the message. [ahlu
madyan - 20:40:31-32 and 28:45:12-13].The companions of the grave. Those who will in their graves awaiting the Day of Judgment whom the disbelievers fear to meet. [ashabu l-quboor, 60:13:18-19].
The companions of Moses. Those with Moses
who thought Pharoah
would capture and over taken them before Moses parted the sea so they could
cross and Pharoah was drowned in pursuit. [ashabu moosaa, 26:61:5-6].Themes
The good are either in paradise in the hereafter or had exemplary lessons for us to learn for this life while the bad are either in the hellfire in the hereafter or had exemplary warnings for us so we do not see the punishment of both this life and the hereafter. The neutral groups were mentioned mostly in the process of conveying valuable lessons and on some occasions they are referred to positively in some parts and negative in others like the people of the book or are further divided and classified thereafter. These are the complete listing of people and companion named groups which can at least give us something to ponder over.
May Allah make us learn the lessons needed so we can individually be amongst the company of the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs and the righteous [4:69] in the next life and make us not sacrifice to gain a station in this worldly life while losing in the hereafter.
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