3-Methodology of the Companions in Preserving the Sunnah

Before discussing the Companions' ways of learning, practicing, preserving and conveying of the Sunnah, it is worthwhile to shed some light on the main points one needs to understand about the Companions  and their methodology: 

1.      The Companions  were fully aware of the responsibility they shoulder after the death of the Prophet . 

2.      The Companions  are all trustworthy. They  never doubted one another in the matters of this religion and the narration of Hadeeth. 

3.      The Companions  have developed a methodology for scrutinizing Hadeeths and narrators, and by doing that have established the rules of ascertaining narrations for those who came after them. 

4.      The ability of different Companions  to understand the Sunnah, memorize it and convey it varied from one Companion to another. 

5.      The Companions  left Makkah and Madeenah to many places around the Muslim world, at the time, for the purpose of delivering the message and teaching Islam to those who accepted it thus spreading the Sunnah throughout the land.

It is interesting to note that about 750 Companions  narrated Hadeeths, seven of whom narrated a high number of Hadeeths, and about twenty narrated an average number, the rest narrated a small number.  

The seven who narrated a large number of Hadeeths are: Abu Hurayrah who narrated 5374 Hadeeths, 'Abdullaah Ibn ‘Umar narrated 2630, Anas Ibn Maalik narrated 2286, 'Aa'ishah narrated 2210 Hadeeths, 'Abdullaah Ibn 'Abbaas narrated 1660, Jaabir Ibn 'Abdullaah narrated 1540, and Abu Sa'eed AI-Khudri narrated 1100 Hadeeths . They understood their role and were aware of the significance of their ability in narrating the Hadeeths and did their best to deliver them diligently and accurately. Muslims of all times are indebted to them .