categories of the Prophet’s companions (طَبَقَات الصَّحَابَة)
الحديث
التعريف :
The categories and grades of the prophet’s companions on the basis of having something or a quality in common.
المعنى الاصطلاحي :
Groups of the Companions who share certain conditions and qualities.
الشرح المختصر :
"Tabaqaat-us-Sahaabah" (Companions' classes) is one of the Hadith sciences. It deals with the Companions of the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, who saw him while having faith in him, and died as Muslims. They fall under different classifications that are based upon certain qualities and conditions, such as emigration, jihad, etc. Scholars adopted two approaches in writing books about the Companions' classes: 1. Listing all the Companions under one class only. 2. Categorizing them into classes; five classes according to some, and twelve according to others. The first class comprises those who embraced Islam in Makkah, the second are those of Daar-un-Nadwah, the third are those who emigrated to Abyssinia, etc.