Surah 53 · Verse 2

[53:1-18] The extraordinary event told in these verses, as it appears, is a miraculous experience. Is the falling of stars an apparent perception because of traveling among galaxies faster than speed of light? What were the signs Muhammed witnessed? Did Muhammed meet God or Gabriel? 20:114. [53:2] Centuries after Muhammed, he and his companions became idols. Muslims started considering the prophet's companions (sahaba) or anyone who met him as a Muslim, to be almost infallible. The word Saheb, Sahaba, and its plural Ashab are usually used in a negative context. For instance, out of the 77 occurrence of Ashab, and one occurrence of "Ashabahum" (their comrades), only 27 are used positively, such as, "Ashab ul-Jannah" (People of the Paradise) or "Ashab ul- Yameen" (People of the Right). Excluding the few neutral usages of the word, the word "Ashab" is usually used to denote disbelievers and hypocrites. None of these Ashab, the PLURAL of Sahaba, refers to muslims who lived during time of prophet Muhammed. In only one case, the plural Ashab refers to people with Moses (26:61), and we learn from the Quran that most of them were not true believers (7:138-178; 20:83-87). The Quran informs us about the quality of Muhammed's comrades in numerous verses. What we see is not a depiction of perfect holy people, but ordinary people, with weaknesses and shortcomings. Among the 12 occurrences of the singular and dual form, sahib, only five describe a relationship between a prophet and his friends. And, out of these five occurrences, only one of them has a positive connotation. Before quoting the verses, I want to remind you that the word sahib (companion, friend) is about a mutual relationship; if someone is your companion, you are their companion too, and vice versa. In four occurrences, the addressees are disbelievers or polytheists (34:46, 53:2, 81:22; 12:39). The only positive usage of the word sahib, as a companion of a prophet is in 9:40. In sum, according to the Quranic usage, the words sahib (companion, friend), or ashab, (companions, friends) by themselves do not denote any positive meaning. In three verses, Muhammed is described as the sahib (companion) of disbelievers, and in only one verse, he was the sahib of a believer. Thus, statistically speaking, the word ashab refers to hypocrites and polytheists 75% of the time. According to the books of hadith, Abdullah Ibn Masood was one of the top companions of the prophet Muhammed. His hadith narrations are among Sunni Muslims’ most cherished sources of jurisprudence. Many hadith and narration books, including Bukhary and Ibn Hanbal, report that Ibn Masood had a personal copy of the Quran and that he did not put the last two chapters in it. According to those books, he claimed that those two chapters did not belong in the Quran. Apparently, another companion of the prophet, Ubayy Ibn Kaab, also had a different personal Quran. He added two chapters called "Sura Al-Hafd" and "Sura Al- Khal," and claimed that these were from the Quran (These "chapters" are still being recited by Hanafis in the "sala al-witr," after night prayers.) For the prophecy of the Quran regarding the words hadith, sunna, ijma, sharia, and salaf, see 33:38.