Are Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan and Khalid ibn al-Walid - may Allah be pleased with them - considered companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him? And does the hadith "Leave my companions to me" imply that there was a hypocrite or a wicked person among the Companions, as Umar - may Allah be pleased with him - asked, "Am I one of them?"

The companionship of Khalid ibn al-Walid and Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with them both) is well-established. What Adnan Ibrahim claims—that companionship is limited to those who embraced Islam before the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah—is a false statement. Furthermore, his slandering of them and other Companions, and his description of Mu'awiyah as an imposter and a charlatan, and his son Yazid as illegitimate, contradicts what has been reported regarding Mu'awiyah concerning the glad tidings of Paradise and the Prophet's prayer for his guidance, as well as what the imams and scholars testified to regarding his virtue and leadership. As for the hadith, "Leave my Companions to me," it indicates the varying ranks of the Companions and the preference for the early converts, but it does not negate the companionship of those whose Islam came later. Umar's (may Allah be pleased with him) fear of hypocrisy is an example of the apprehension of the pious, and it does not indicate the presence of hypocrites among the Companions.