Books on the Companions and Those Who Followed Them: Stories of the Sahabah, al-Hasan ibn Ali and the Tabi'in

Allah says:

And the first forerunners [in the faith] among the Muhajireen and the Ansar and those who followed them with good conduct - Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him, and He has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great attainment.

— Surah at-Tawbah 9:100

The verse names two groups: the Companions who were first to the faith, and "those who followed them with good conduct." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) placed the same generations at the head of this Ummah. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud narrated that he said:

The people of my generation are the best, then those who follow them, and then whose who follow the latter.

— Sahih al-Bukhari 2652

These are the generations whose understanding of the religion we follow. Knowing their lives is part of knowing the religion. This guide covers three books on our shelves that bring them to the English reader: a collection of Companion stories, a full biography of the Prophet's grandson, and a set of portraits of the scholars who came after.

1. The Companions: Stories of Sahabah

Stories of Sahabah by Dr. Ali M. Es-Sawi and Dr. Abdel-Hamid Eliwa

This is the place to start. Dr. Ali M. Es-Sawi and Dr. Abdel-Hamid Eliwa gather the life accounts of the Companions in short, readable narratives: how each came to Islam, what it cost them, and the qualities that marked them out.

• Sacrifice and faith: persecution, exile, the loss of wealth and family, and what the first Muslims gave to carry the religion.
• Character: their generosity, honesty and humility, and their closeness to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
• Lessons for today: each story is told so the reader can see how the Companions faced trials, sought knowledge and kept their families.

Who it is for: readers of all ages. It works well as a family read-aloud, for those new to Islam, and for teachers looking for stories of the Companions to share with children and teenagers.

For a second collection of Companion portraits, see Companions Around the Prophet.

2. The Prophet's Grandson: Al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib

Al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib by Dr. Ali Mohammad al-Sallabi

Al-Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) grew up in the household of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the son of Ali and Fatimah. Abu Bakrah reported seeing the Prophet on the pulpit with al-Hasan beside him, and hearing him say:

This son of mine is a Saiyid (i.e. a noble) and may Allah make peace between two big groups of Muslims through him.

— Sahih al-Bukhari 2704

That is exactly what happened. After the death of his father, al-Hasan received the pledge as caliph, and then gave up the caliphate to Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan so that the Muslims would be united. Dr. Ali Mohammad al-Sallabi traces his whole life: his upbringing under the Prophet, his place among the Companions, his worship and generosity, and the decision that fulfilled the prophecy.

Who it is for: anyone who wants to know the family of the Prophet as Ahl as-Sunnah know them, with love and accuracy, and without the distortions that have grown up around this period.

Al-Sallabi's biographies of the four caliphs, including al-Hasan's father Ali, are covered in our guide to books on the four rightly-guided caliphs. Al-Hasan's volume is read best after the one on Ali.

3. Those Who Followed Them: The Scholars of the Early Generations

Those Who Followed by Shuayb Sammar

The Tabi'in received the religion from the Companions and passed it on. Shuayb Sammar collects short biographies of figures from those early generations, scholars, worshippers and leaders known for holding to the Qur'an and Sunnah through trial and for their part in carrying the religion forward.

Among those included are Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Imam al-Bukhari, Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak and Imam Abu Hanifah. Each portrait draws out what set that person apart, whether their learning, their worship or their patience under trial, with the relevant verses and hadith referenced along the way.

Who it is for: families and students, and especially pre-teens and teenagers who need role models from the generations closest to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

For a far fuller record of these same generations, Ibn al-Jawzi's Ranks of the Elite is the classical work, covered in our guide to books by Ibn al-Jawzi.

Where to Start

• For the whole family: start with Stories of Sahabah.
• For history in depth: read al-Sallabi's caliphs, then Al-Hasan ibn Ali to close the era of the rightly-guided caliphate.
• For the generations after the Companions: Those Who Followed, then Ibn al-Jawzi's Ranks of the Elite.

Browse the full seerah and companions collection and our Islamic history books.

Related Reading

These lives begin where the seerah ends. See our guide to the 3 essential seerah books every Muslim should read, and for where this shelf sits in a complete library, start at our complete Islamic reading guide by topic.

We aim to carry only titles upon the Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah upon the understanding of the Salaf as-Salih, and we ask Allah to keep us upon that. You can read about each author on their page or browse all of them on our authors page. Every order ships from our shop here in Portland, and if you are unsure which book to begin with, reach out on live chat. We are always glad to help you choose.

Baarakallahu feekum — The Islamic Book Cafe | Portland, Oregon.