Disagreements of the Jurists. al-Qadi al-Nu'man
unbeliever, «He entered his garden while he was doing wrong to himself. He said, “I do not think that this will ever come to naught. I do not think that the Hour is coming, and if I return to my Lord, then I will certainly find a resting place better than it.” His believing companion said to him, in conversation, “Have you become ungrateful to Him Who created you from dust, then from a drop, then formed you as a man? But He is God, my Lord, and I do not take anyone as partner of my Lord.”»102 God called the believer “the companion” of the unbeliever, despite the fact that the unbeliever followed the contrary of the believer’s faith. Not everyone who associates with someone accords with him in religion, opinion, condition, class, intention, and comportment. An example of this is the statement of the Messenger of God to several of his wives: “You are the little companions of Joseph,” meaning the women whose story with Joseph God told in His Book.103 The Prophet’s wives were not among those who actually associated with Joseph, peace be upon him, but rather among those who shared the situation of the women in that story.
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وفي ظاهر القول ما يدلّ على أنّ الصاحب قد يكون على غير المذهب الذي عليه صاحبه ويكون ممّن يصحبه ببدنه كصحبة المتصاحبين في السفر وغيره . وقد قال الله عزّ وجلّ {وَٱضْرِبْ لَهُم مَّثَلًا أَصْحَٰبَ ٱلْقَرْيَةِ إِذْ جَآءَهَا ٱلْمُرْسَلُونَ} وقال {أَصْحَٰبِ مَدْيَنَ} و{أَصْحَٰبَ ٱلسَّفِينَةِ} و{أَصْحَٰبَ ٱلرَّسِّ} يعني أهل ذلك المكان وسكّانه١. وإن كان الصاحب مشتقّـًا من الصحبة في السفر وأشباهه فقد يقال لكلّ من لازم شيئـًا أو ملكه أو ألّفه صاحبه ، كما يقال صاحب العبد وصاحب الدار وصاحب الأرض وصاحب الأمر وفلان صاحب سنّة وفلان صاحب بدعة و فلان صاحب حقّ وفلان صاحب باطل وصاحب مال أي ذو مال يكون الصاحب في ذلك نعتًا ويجري مجرى الاسم.
١ ز: ومكانه.
The plain meaning of the quotations above allows that one companion profess a doctrine at variance with what the other companion espouses and yet be among those who associate with him physically, as do travel companions and so on. God said: «Cite for them as a parable the companions of the city, when those sent by God came to them»;104 «the companions of Midian»;105 «the companions of the Ark»;106 and «the companions of Rass»;107 meaning the inhabitants or residents of those places, or passengers of the Ark. If the term “companion,” ṣāḥib, derives from “companionship,” ṣuḥbah, in travel or other such things, then one might call anyone who adheres to something, possesses it, or associates with it its companion, just as in Arabic one uses the term “companion” to mean the owner of a slave, the owner of a house, the owner of land, or the owner or possessor of authority; or So-and-So is the owner of, i.e., the one who set, an established precedent, So-and-So is the owner, i.e. the originator, of a heresy, So-and-So is the owner of a right, that is, in the right, So-and-So is owner of a fault, that is, in the wrong, or So-and-So is the owner of property, that is, wealthy. The word ṣāḥib “owning” in all these cases would be an adjective treated as a noun.
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فيكون على هذا قوله أصحابي كالنجوم بأيّهم اقتديتم اهتديتم. يعني بهم الأئمّة من أهل بيته صلوات الله عليه وعليهم فهم القدوة الذين يهتدي بهم المهتدون والذين أخبر عنهم بأنّهم وكتاب الله الثقلان لن يفترقا حتّى يردا على الحوض. والذين صحّت لهم الشهادة من الرسول أحقّ بالهداية والتفضيل . وقال صلّی الله عليه وعلى آله ناصرهما لي ناصر وخاذلهم لي خاذل ووليّهما لي وليّ وعدوّهما لي عدوّ. وقد قال الله تعالى لرسوله محمّد صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله {قُلْ هَٰذِهِۦ سَبِيلِىٓ أَدْعُوٓا إِلَى ٱللهِ ۚ عَلَىٰ بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَا۠ وَمَنِ ٱتَّبَعَنِى} يعني على أمر الله ونهيه والاقتداء به صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله واعتقاد النيّة في ذلك. ولم يقل ومن صحبني لأنّ الاتّباع لا يكون إلّا عن نيّة وقد يكون أكثر١ الصحبة على المجاز كما بيّنّا آنفًا.
١ ساقطة في ل.
Consequently, when the Prophet stated, “My Companions are like the stars. No matter which of them you follow, you will be led aright,” he meant thereby the Imams among his descendants, for they are the ones who should be adopted as authorities and the ones by whom those seeking guidance may be guided aright. It was reported about them that they and the Book of God are the two weighty matters which will not part until they arrive at the Heavenly Pool,108 and testimony of the Messenger has been soundly established that they are more properly considered superior and capable of guidance. He said, “The ally of those two is my ally, and he who deserts them has deserted me. Their ally is my ally, and their enemy is my enemy.” God stated to His Messenger Muḥammad: «Say: This is my path. I call to God out of sure insight, I and whoever follows me»109 meaning that the Prophet was obeying the commands and prohibitions of God and that the believers were following the Prophet, as a guide, with firm resolve. He did not say, “and whoever accompanies me as a companion,” because following is a consequence of intention, and the idea of “companionship” is mostly used in a loose, figurative sense, as we have just explained.
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وكذلك١ في قصّة نوح وابنه ونفيه إيّاه أن يكون من أهله ما دلّ به عزّ وجلّ على حاجة العباد إلى مختار من قبله يؤيّدهم ويرشدهم ويبيّن لهم معالم دينهم. ولو كان ذلك يمكن أن يكون في جميع الصحابة لأمكن أن يكون في كافّة آل محمّد وعامّتهم أوجد منه في الصحابة. ولكنّا لا نجد ذلك منهم إلّا في الواحد بعد الواحد في الزمن بعد الزمن بنصّ من أولياء الله المختارين بعضهم على بعض. ولو كان