Tanzih al-Ashab an Tanaqqus Abi Turab
- Author died
- 1413 AH
- Editions
- Majallat al-Jāmi‘ah al-Islāmīyah bi-al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah
Tanzih al-Ashab an Tanaqqus Abi Turab (Arabic: تنزيه الأصحاب عن تنقص أبي تراب, lit. 'Exonerating the Companions from the Diminution of Abu Turab') is a treatise by the Saudi scholar Hammud ibn Abdullah al-Tuwayjiri (1334–1413 AH / 1915–1993 CE) defending the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ against disparaging claims made by the contemporary writer Abu Turab al-Zahiri.
Background and Purpose
The impetus for writing the treatise was an article published by Abu Turab al-Zahiri in the Saudi newspaper Okaz (issue no. 3163, dated Saturday, 13 Muharram 1395 AH). Al-Tuwayjiri regarded the article as containing denigrations of the Companions generally and of Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab in particular, arguing that speech diminishing their status stems only from ignorance or animosity toward them. He composed the treatise to identify and rebut five specific errors in Abu Turab's article so that readers would not be misled about the preeminence and rank of the Companions.
Content and Arguments
Al-Tuwayjiri structured his critique around addressing five points raised by Abu Turab:
- The Superiority of Umar over the Mothers of the Believers: In the first point, al-Tuwayjiri refuted Abu Turab's assertion that the Mothers of the Believers were superior in rank to Umar. Al-Tuwayjiri cited numerous prophetic traditions—including reports on the symbolic weighing of the community, the two leaders of the mature inhabitants of Paradise, and the Prophet's earthly counselors—alongside the documented consensus of the Companions placing Abu Bakr and Umar above the rest of the Muslim community.
- Knowledge and Hadith Transmission of the Early Caliphs: In the third point, al-Tuwayjiri addressed Abu Turab's claims that Abu Bakr and Umar died without having memorized the entire Quran, and that Abdullah ibn Umar and Abu Hurayrah were more knowledgeable than them based on their higher counts of transmitted hadiths (citing 142 narrations for Abu Bakr and 537 for Umar versus 2,630 for Ibn Umar and 5,304 for Abu Hurayrah). Al-Tuwayjiri demanded evidence for the claim regarding their Quranic memorization, noted Abu Bakr's precedence in leading the prayer as proof of his mastery of the Quran and the Sunnah, and maintained that virtue, legal understanding, and scholarly depth are not determined merely by transmission volume. He also documented early reports on the vastness of Umar's knowledge, such as the statement of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud that Umar departed with nine-tenths of knowledge.
Publication
The work was serialized and published in the Journal of the Islamic University of Madinah (مجلة الجامعة الإسلامية بالمدينة المنورة), appearing across issues 30 and 31.
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