Sahobiy ta'rifi bo'yicha ikkita ta'rif mavjud:

There are two definitions of a Sahabi:

1. Payg'ambar ﷺ ni ko'rgan musulmon.

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

2. Payg'ambar ﷺ bilan bir yoki ikki yil birga yashagan yoki Payg'ambar ﷺ boshchiligida bo'lgan bir yoki ikki g'azotda (harbiy yurishda) qatnashgan musulmon.

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]).

Keyingi ta'rif tobe'iyn ulamosidan Said ibn al-Musayyib tomonidan rivoyat qilingan va u kuchliroqdir. Rivoyat qilinishicha, u shunday degan: "Payg'ambar ﷺ bilan bir yil yoki ikki yil birga bo'lgan yoki u zot bilan bir yoki ikki jangga chiqqan kishi bo'lishi shart." Shu'ba al-Sibilloniydan — uning haqida u yaxshi gapirgan — rivoyat qiladi: "Men Anas ibn Molik (roziyallohu anhu)dan so'radim: Allohning Rasuli ﷺ ning sahobalaridan sizdan boshqa biror kishi qolganmi? U degan: Hali ham u zotni ko'rgan ko'plab arablar bor. Lekin uning sahobalari — yo'q!" Imom al-Mazini o'zining "Sharh ul-Burhan" kitobida shunday degan: "Biz sahoba deganda bir kun yoki ikki kun u zotga uchragan kishilarni yoki biror ish yuzasidan u zotning huzurida bo'lib, keyin ketib qolganlarni nazarda tutmaymiz. Biz u zotga ergashgan, unga yordam bergan va Alloh (subhanahu va taolo) u zotga nozil qilgan nur bilan hidoyat topgan kishilarni nazarda tutamiz. Saodatga erishadigan aynan ana shulardir."

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.”