The Qur’an says...

The Qur’an says, “Round about you [Muhammad and his community] and among you in Madinah are hypocrites and they are obstinate in hypocrisy. You do not know them, We know them, twice shall We punish them and in addition they shall be sent to a grievous penalty.” (9:101) The Qur’an also says, “And Muhammad is not but an apostle, (other) apostles have already passed away prior to him; therefore, if he dies or is slain, will you turn upon your heels?

And he who turns upon his heels will by no means do harm to God in the least, and soon will God reward the grateful ones.” (3:144) These and others verses, such as those found in Surah al-Tawbah ( Repentance ) and Surah al-Munafiqun ( The Hypocrites ) indicate that a group of hypocrites existed among the companions of the Prophet.

Thus, according to the Qur’an, a group of companions was composed of the righteous and the unrighteous, the believers and the hypocrites, and although companionship was a great honor, it did not ensure immunity from error and this view has been adopted by the Shi’a scholars as well. In many of the hadith, the companions themselves rejected each other or refuted what other companions said.

As for the leaders of the Islamic schools of thought, Imam Abu Hanifah is known to have said that all of the companions were pure except for a few, and he mentioned some of their names.[^13] Imam Malik Ibn Anas was asked what to do when two narrators relate contradictory hadith from the Prophet and whether both should be accepted or not?