Kuna ufafanuzi mbili wa Sahabi:

There are two definitions of a Sahabi:

1. Muislamu aliyemwona Mtume ﷺ.

1. A Muslim who saw the Prophet (saw).

2. Muislamu aliyeishi pamoja na Mtume ﷺ kwa mwaka mmoja au miwili, au aliyeshiriki katika Ghazwaat moja au mbili (safari za kijeshi zilizoongozwa na Mtume ﷺ).

2. A Muslim who lived with the Prophet (saw) for one or two years or participated in one or two Ghazwaat (military expeditions led by the Prophet [saw]).

Ufafanuzi wa mwisho ulipokewa kutoka kwa mwanachuoni maarufu wa Tabi'een, Said bin al-Musayeb, nao ni imara zaidi. Imesimuliwa kwamba alisema: "Ni lazima mtu awe na urafiki na Mtume ﷺ kwa mwaka mmoja au miwili, au awe ameshiriki naye katika vita moja au mbili." Shu'ba alisimulia kutoka kwa Musa al-Sibillani - ambaye alimsifu sana - kwamba alisema: "Nilimwambia Anas bin Malik (ra): Je, kuna masahaba wa Mjumbe wa Allah ﷺ waliobaki isipokuwa wewe? Akasema: Bado kuna Waarabu wengi waliomwona. Lakini kuhusu masahaba wake, hapana!" Imam al-Mazini alisema katika kitabu chake Sharh ul-Burhan: "Hatumaanishi kwa Sahabah wale waliokutana naye kwa siku moja au mbili, wala wale waliomhudumia kwa shughuli fulani kisha wakaondoka. Tunamaanisha wale waliomfuata, wakamsaidia, na kuongozwa na nuru aliyoteremshiwa na Allah (swt) ﷺ; hao ndio watakaopata heri."

The latter definition was reported by the famous scholar of the Tabi‟een, Said bin al-Musayeb and is stronger. It has been narrated he said, “It is essential that someone has companionship with the Prophet (saw) for one or two years, or has gone out with him on one or two battles.” Shu'ba reported from Musa al-Sibillani - whom he spoke appreciatively about - that he said: “I said to Anas bin Malik (ra). Are there any companions of the Messenger of Allah (saw) left other than you? He said: There are still many Arabs who saw him. As for his companions, no!” Imam al-Mazini said in his book Sharh ul-Burhan, “We do not mean by Sahabah those who met him for a day or two, or those who attended him for some business and then left, we mean those who followed him, helped him and were guided by the light that Allah (swt) revealed to him (saaw), those are the ones to attain felicity.”