I am searching for books on the Sahabah, what do you think about “Hayatus Sahabah: The Lives of the Companions: Vol. 1-3” by Muhammad Yusuf Kandhlawi? Is it a good authentic book and is it all about Da'wah? Can you please give a list of good books on the Companions?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

The book Hayaatus-Sahaabah (The Biography of the Companions) edited by Al-Kandahlawi is a good book in this subject. In fact, it is one of the best books that deals with morals and matters of worship and faith, according to the life of the Prophet and his Companions .

Abu Al-Hasan An-Nadwi praised this book and said that its author extracted it from the books of Tabaqaat (major classes of the Companions ) and the books of history. The great and outstanding scholar of Prophetic narrations, 'Abdul-Fattaah Abu Ghaddah also praised it.

This book is not specialized in Da'wah (calling people to Islam); rather, its author spoke about various things. For instance, he spoke about the moral conduct of the Companions their eagerness in performing acts of worship – especially prayer – their Jihaad (fighting for the cause of Allaah The Almighty), their migration, their interest in the remembrance of Allaah The Almighty, supplication and patience. He also spoke about some of their practices in their marital lives, their kindness to people, hospitality and generosity to their guests, and other noble moral qualities.

Finally, it should be noted that many weak narrations have been mentioned in the books of biographies (of the Prophet and his Companions ). For instance, Dr. Akram Dhiyaa' Al-'Umur, stated in the book entitled Al-Khilaafah Ar-Raashidah (The Rightly Guided Caliphate), that the scholars of Prophetic narrations did not give great importance to biographies (of the Prophet and his Companions ) and did not concern themselves with recording them. Therefore, people became dependent on historians and other biographers who are not trustworthy, like Al-Waaqidi and Ibn Is-haaq. It was even reported that some scholars of Prophetic narrations were too lenient in regard to narrations related to the biographies of the Prophet and his Companions but were strict when it came to narrations related to jurisprudential rulings, among whom was Imaam Ahmad .

There are many weak narrations in the book Hayaatus-Sahaabah; its author elaborates too much on some narrations and reports the statements of scholars on their chain of narrators, however, he reports the statements of some scholars who were too lenient, like Al-Haythami and Al-Munthiri .

The following books are translated into English:

·        Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtoom (The Sealed Nectar), by Safi-ur-Rahmaan Mubaarakpuri.

·        Fiqh As-Seerah, by Al-Ghazali.

·        Mukhtasar Seerat Ar-Rasool (The Summary of the Biography of the Prophet), by Muhammad ibn 'Abdul-Wahaab.

·        The Finest Man Who Ever Lived

Allaah Knows best.