Definition of a Companion (Sahabi) in the Zaydi School

According to the Zaydī imam Ṣarīm al-Dīn al-Wazīr (d. 914 AH), a Companion is defined as:

“One who accompanied the Prophet for a long period of time, closely following him.”

This definition is supported by the fact that the primary meaning of the word ṣāḥib—the singular of ṣaḥāba—is defined in the classical dictionary Lisān al-ʿArab as:

“One who is intimately associated (muʿāshir) with another.”

Elaboration by Zaydī Scholars

• Imam al-Manṣūr ʿAbdullah b. Ḥamza (d. 614 AH) said: “A Companion is a person who remained close to the Prophet and accepted his message. This is what we believe. A Companion is not someone who met the Prophet once or twice, as opposed to what many scholars of Hadith believe.”
• Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl al-Ṣanʿānī (d. 1182 AH) remarked: “It is not fair to call one whom the Prophet merely saw or briefly met, a Companion—thereby giving them all the attributes reserved for the actual Ṣaḥāba.”

Contrast with Sunni Definition

The above view of the Zaydī imams contrasts with the stance of Sunni scholars of Hadith, who have largely defined a Companion as anyone who merely saw or met the Prophet and died upon Islam.

Consequently:

• Scholars such as Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl al-Bukhārī (d. 256 AH) and Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (d. 852 AH) classified anyone who meets this broad criterion as a Companion.
• They further awarded such individuals the status of being upright (ʿudūl).
• In practical terms, this entails the automatic acceptance of their narrations without scrutiny of character, a position Zaydī scholars strongly rejected.

References

📕 — Al-Fuṣūl al-Luʾluʾiyya, Imam Ṣarīm al-Dīn al-Wazīr (d. 914 AH).
📕 — Lisān al-ʿArab, Ibn Manẓūr (d. 710 AH).
📕 — Ṣafwat al-Ikhtiyār, Imam al-Manṣūr ʿAbdullah b. Ḥamza (d. 614 AH).
📕 — Thamarāt al-Naẓar fī ʿIlm al-Āthār, Imam Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl al-Ṣanʿānī (d. 1182 AH).
📕 — Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl al-Bukhārī (d. 256 AH), under the chapter-title “Definition of a Companion.”
📕 — Al-Iṣābah fī Tamyīz al-Ṣaḥābah, Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (d. 852 AH).