Was Waraqah ibn Nawfal a Companion?

There is a difference of opinion as to whether Waraqah ibn Nawfal ibn Asad ibn ‘Abd al-‘Uzza ibn Qusayy al-Qurashi al-Asadi – the paternal cousin of Khadijah , the wife of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) – was one of the Companions. 

• Some of the scholars listed him among the Companions, such as at-Tabari, al-Baghawi, Ibn Qani‘, Ibn as-Sakan and others, as it says in al-Isabah (6/607) 

az-Zarkali (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

“Among the historians are some who regarded him as being one of the Companions . Al-Baghdadi said: Abu’l-Hasan Burhan ad-Din Ibrahim al-Biqa‘i wrote a book about Waraqah’s belief in the Prophet and his being a Companion of his, which he called Badhl al-Nus-h wa’sh-Shafaqah li Ta'rif bi Suhbat as-Sayyid Waraqah.” (Al-I‘lam, 8/115) 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

“What appears to me to be the case – and Allah knows best – is that he is to be regarded as a Sahabi, so one should say “Radiya Allahu ‘anhu (may Allah be pleased with him)” when mentioning him.” 

Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan was asked: 

What is more appropriate with regard to Waraqah ibn Nawfal if mention is made of him? Can we say “Radiya Allahu ‘anhu (may Allah be pleased with him)”? 

He (may Allah preserve him) replied: 

“Undoubtedly, yes, he is a Sahabi and we should say “Radiya Allahu ‘anhu (may Allah be pleased with him).” 

According to this view, Waraqah ibn Nawfal was the first man to believe in the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

“Hence we say: The first woman to believe in him was Khadijah and the first man to do so was Waraqah ibn Nawfal.” (Majmu‘ Fatawa wa Rasail Ibn ‘Uthaymin (8/613)

• Some of the scholars say that he was not a Sahabi, but he believed in the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and died during the cessation of revelation . 

Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

“We have noted above that Waraqah ibn Nawfal believed in the revelation that existed at his time, and died during the cessation of revelation, may Allah be pleased with him.” (Al-Bidayah wa’n-Nihayah (3/25) 

Adh-Dhahabi quoted the hadith of ‘Urwah, according to which he said:

“Waraqah ibn Nawfal passed by Bilal when he was being tortured; his back was on the hot sand and he was saying, “One, One.” Waraqah said: “One, One, O Bilal. Patience, O Bilal. Why are you torturing him? For by the One in Whose Hand is my soul, if you kill him, I will surely pray for mercy for him. 

Then adh-Dhahabi said: This report is mursal. If Waraqah lived until this time, then he would be regarded as one of the Companions . But the man died during the cessation of revelation, after Prophethood began but before the message was proclaimed, as it says in as-Sahih.” (Siyar A‘lam an-Nubala (1/129) 

Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said, after quoting the hadith about the beginning of creation: 

“The apparent meaning of this report indicates that he affirmed his Prophethood, but he died before the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) began to call people to Islam. So he is like Buhayra, and the issue of describing him as one of the Companions is subject to discussion." (Al-Isabah  6/607) 

• Some of the scholars refrained from taking a stance, and mentioned the difference of opinion. 

Ibn Mandah said: 

“There is a difference of opinion as to whether he became Muslim. ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas narrated from him, but I do not know of anyone who said that Waraqah became Muslim. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not definitively say that he became Muslim, and ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas did not hear from him." (Tarikh Dimashq 63/4) 

Al-Karmani said: 

“If you were to ask me, what do you say about Waraqah? Do you deem him to have been a believer? I would say that he was undoubtedly a believer in ‘Isa (peace be upon him). As for whether he believed in our Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), it is not known whether the religion of ‘Isa had been abrogated at the time of his death or not. If it is proven that it had been abrogated at that time, then the more correct view is that faith is to believe and he believed, and he did not say anything to contradict that." (‘Umdat al-Qari 1/168) 

Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Razzaq ‘Afifi (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about Waraqah ibn Nawfal and whether he is to be regarded as a Sahabi or one of the people of the interval between Prophets? 

The Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) replied: 

“If it is proven that he became Muslim at the time of the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), then he is a Sahabi. But his words “It is an-namus al-akbar (i.e., Jibreel)” do not clearly indicate that he became Muslim, because he said, “If I live until your time,” and he did not live until that time." (Fatawa ash-Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Razzaq ‘Afifi  p. 313) 

What is more likely to be the case – and Allah knows best – is that he was a believer and a monotheist, but he is not regarded as one of the Companions, because he died during the cessation of revelation, after Prophethood began but before the message was proclaimed. 

Al-Hakim (4211) narrated from `Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:

“Do not revile Waraqah, for I saw that he will be in the Garden (Paradise), or will have two gardens.” Al-Hakim classed it as sahih according to the conditions of the two shaykhs [al-Bukhari and Muslim]. It was also quoted by al-Albani in as-Sahihah (405). Ad-Daraqutni thought it most likely to be mursal, as it says in al-‘Ilal (14/157) 

If it is sahih, then this may indicate that the Companions were not certain that he was to be regarded as one of the Companions of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). If he had been a Sahabi, there would have been no need to tell the people not to criticise him (may Allah have mercy on him). 

And Allah knows best.