Justice and the Conduct of the Companions of the Prophet

The fairness of all the Companions of the God's Apostle (PBUH) is a theory put forth and advocated strongly by Sunni scholars; according to this theory, all the Companions are just and are committed to the requirements of justice. Since this theory has serious consequences for Islamic sciences, particularly for the validity of the words of the Companions, the present paper examines this theory based on the performance of the Companions themselves. In brief, the belief of the Sunni scholars that all the Companions are just (especially 'Companion' in the sense that all traditionists agree upon) is not correct. Because, beside other reasons provided in their own place, the performance of a substantial number of the Companions and many of their deeds which are against justice, do not confirm this theory in general; that is, they do not confirm the justice of all the Companions. Moreover, traditionist's definition of a 'Companion' as a Muslim who had had association with the Holy Messenger (PBUH) or had seen the Prophet, even for a moment, and had died while believing in Islam, is not linguistically acceptable and has no legitimate proof either; rather, 'Companion' is a term introduced in periods after Islam. Therefore, we cannot pass a judicial decree on the basis of this term. The result of the discussion is that the Companions of the Prophet, just like other people, can be either just or unjust. Hence, regarding the acceptance or rejection of narrators of Hadīth, they are no different from other people.