All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.

Allah The Almighty chose the best of creation to be companions of His Prophet, peace be upon him. He favored them with his companionship, receiving knowledge directly from him, and sitting in his presence. Allah The Almighty has praised the companions, as He says in the Quran {what means}: "And the foremost, the first of the emigrants and the Helpers, and those who followed them in goodness - Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him, and He has prepared for them Gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great attainment." [At-Tawbah, 100]. Indeed, Islam came as guidance and mercy to remove enmity between people and to uplift its causes. Allah says {what means}: "And those who came after them say, "Our Lord, forgive us and our brethren who preceded us in faith and put not in our hearts any ill will towards those who have believed. Our Lord, indeed, You are Forgiving and Merciful." [Al-Hashr, 10].

As for preferring some companions to others specifically, there is no explicit and direct text regarding this. The texts do not explicitly detail the specific areas of preference. However, the majority of Ahl al-Sunnah wal Jama`ah, after examining their virtues and merits, concluded that the best of the companions after the Prophet, peace be upon him, was his companion Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, then Umar al-Faruq, then Uthman ibn Affan, and then the gate of the city of knowledge, Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with them all, according to their order in assuming the great caliphate. However, some scholars have argued that this order is not definitive in religion, but is rather established by a preponderance of evidence.

Imam al-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, said in his commentary on Sahih Muslim  'Imam Abu Abdillah al-Mazari said: "People have differed regarding the preference of some companions over others. One group said, 'We do not differentiate but rather refrain from doing so,' while the majority said that differentiation is permissible... The consensus among the Ahl al-Sunnah Wal Jama`ah is that the best of them is Abu Bakr, then Umar. The majority of them said that then comes Uthman, then Ali. However, some Ahl al-Sunnah from Kufa preferred Ali over Uthman. The correct and well-known opinion is to prefer Uthman... Scholars have differed on whether the aforementioned preference is definitive or not. Among those who said it is definitive is Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari, who said, 'They are in terms of preference according to their order in the caliphate.' Among those who said it is based on scholarly opinion is Abu Bakr al-Baqillani.' Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, may Allah have mercy on him, said in Fateh al-Bari  : 'The above Hadith of preferring Uthman after Abu Bakr and Umar is as it is well-known among the majority of Ahl al-Sunnah. Some of the early scholars were of the opinion of preferring Ali over Uthman, including Sufyan al-Thawri, although it is said that he later retracted this opinion. Ibn Khuzaymah and a group before and after him also held this opinion. It was also said that neither of them should be preferred over the other, as stated by Malik in al-Mudawwana, and a group followed him, including Yahya al-Qattan. Among the later scholars, Ibn Hazm also held this opinion.'"

It is religiously incumbent upon a Muslim not to harbor hatred towards any of the companions due to the numerous texts that emphasize this point and the unique status they hold as companions of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. They witnessed his noble character firsthand, acquired knowledge directly from him, and received his rulings without intermediaries. Ibn al-Jawzi, may Allah have mercy upon him, said in 'Kashf al-Mushkil'  : 'Loving the companions is a religious obligation, and it should be expressed in a manner permitted by Islamic law. One of the necessary consequences of love is following the beloved.

It is incumbent upon a Muslim to maintain a balanced approach in loving the companions. They should neither claim infallibility for any of them nor should they attack, criticize, or insult any of them. It is recommended that they fill their hearts with the knowledge of the companions' virtues and excellences. It is forbidden for the common person who is not qualified to delve into the complexities of the disagreements among them or the events that occurred after the Prophet's death, peace be upon him, as this often leads to prohibited actions such as harboring hatred towards a companion due to ignorance or lack of knowledge. Al-Ghazali, may Allah have mercy upon him, said in 'Al-Iqtisad' : 'Know that the Book of Allah is filled with praise for the Muhajirin (The converts to Islam and the Islamic Prophet Muhammad's advisors and relatives, who emigrated from Mecca to Medina) and Ansar (The early Muslims from Medina ), and numerous traditions have been narrated about the Prophet's, peace be upon him, commendation of them in various words. For example, his saying, "My companions are like stars, whichever one you follow, you will be guided," and his saying, "The best of people are my generation, then those who come after them." There is no single companion who has not been praised specifically in authentic narrations. Therefore, one should maintain this belief about them and not harbor ill-will towards them based on accounts that contradict the principle of good opinion. Much of what is narrated about them is fabricated due to fanaticism and has no basis in truth. Even when a narration is authentic, it is open to interpretation. It is not permissible to attribute actions to them that cannot be excused by human error or forgetfulness. Rather, their actions should be attributed to good intentions, even if they did not achieve their desired outcome.

Therefore, we (The Iftaa` Department) adopt the consensus among the majority of the Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jama'ah, who give precedence to Abu Bakr, then Umar, then Uthman, and then Ali, may Allah be pleased with them all. And Allah The Almighty knows best.