Analysis of Article: Companions of the Prophet (s)

This article has been written by Lynda L. Kern and published in Encyclopedia of the Qur’ān. Having analyzed the lexical and idiomatical sense of sahabah (companion), the author analyses the authenticity of the companions’ sayings and virtues. She then examines the word sahabah and its derivatives in the Qur’an, hadith and interpretation contexts and discusses some major companions and the greatness of the Muhajirun (immigrants) and Ansar (helpers). Likewise, she reviews some Shi‘ah and Sunni disputes about the companions and their differences in transmission of the tradition of Thaqalayn. The article has several shortcomings: First, the author has, in passing, mentioned several requisites of discourse on the companions and others she has left out completely. Second, she has focused on unnecessary discourses, which incite religious disunity. Third, she has raised most of the discourses from the Sunni viewpoint, whereas some of the ideas presented in this article are unacceptable to the Shi‘ah.