Are there any hadiths about the ten Companions who were given the glad tidings of Paradise?

- What are the characteristics that make them superior?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Said Ibn Zayd narrated. I heard the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) say,  

"Abu Bakr will go to Paradise, Umar will go to Paradise, Uthman will go to Paradise, Ali will go to Paradise, Talha will go to Paradise, Zubayr will go to paradise, Sa'd ibn Malik will go to Paradise, Abdurrahman bin Awf will go to Paradise, Abu Ubayda Ibn Jarrah will go to Paradise."

(The narrator said) Zayd kept silent before the tenth one. The listeners said, "Who is the tenth?" Thereupon, he said, "Said Ibn Zayd!" That is, he himself was the tenth one. Zayd added it later.

"The company of one of their man whose face has been covered with dust by the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) is better than the actions of one of you for a whole life time even if he is granted the life-span of Noah." (Abu Dawud, Sunnah 9)

We will understand why those blessed Companions were given the glad tidings of Paradise better when we read the books narrating their lives. We will explain their virtues in summary here:

1. Hz. Abu Bakr (ra):

Abu Musa al Ashari narrates: "Once, we were with the Messenger of Allah in one of the gardens of Madinah. Somebody came and asked permission to come in. The Prophet (pbuh) said,

'Open the door and give him the glad tiding of Paradise.' I opened the door and saw that it was Abu Bakr. I gave him the glad tiding of Paradise. He praised Allah." (Muslim, Fadailus-Sahaba, 28)

Abu Hurayra narrates: Once, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) asked, "Who among you performed fasting today?"
Abu Bakr said, "I did." The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) asked, "Did anyone visit an ill person?" Abu Bakr said, "I did."
The Prophet (pbuh) asked, "Who among you attended a funeral today?"
Abu Bakr said, "I did."
"Who among you fed a poor person today?"
When Abu Bakr said, "I did", the Prophet (pbuh) said,

"A person who does those deeds on the same day goes to Paradise."

2. Hz. Umar (ra):

He received the following compliment from Hz. Muhammad (pbuh): "If there was to have a Prophet after me, it would have been Umar." (Tirmidhi, Manaqib, 18)

"The sun has not risen upon a man better than 'Umar." (Tirmidhi, Manaqib, 18)

"Indeed, the people of the higher levels, will be seen by those who are beneath them like the stars which appear far off in the sky. And indeed, Abu Bakr and Umar are among them." (Tirmidhi, Manaqib, 17)

3. Hz. Uthman (ra):

Hz. Uthman is one of the first believers and he was tormented by his paternal uncle Hakam b. Abil As because of it. He tied Hz. Uthman to a pole and said to him, "You will stay here hungry and thirsty unless you return to your ancestors’ religion from this new religion. Thereupon, Hz. Uthman said, "By Allah, I shall not give up this religion and I shall not return to my ancestors’ religion." Eventually, when his uncle saw Hz. Uthman’s devotion to his religion, he released him.

However, Hz. Uthman's distress did not end with it but it started. For, as the Prophet put it, he attained the honor of becoming the first person to leave his hometown and to migrate after Hz. Lut (Lot) for his religion and belief. When the tortures and torments of the polytheists became unbearable, Hz. Uthman migrated to Abyssinia with the permission of the Prophet.

4. Hz. Ali (ra):

"You are my brother in the world and the hereafter." (Tirmidhi, Manaqib, 21)

He received the compliment above from the Prophet. Hz. Ali took part in all expeditions that the Messenger of Allah took part except the Battle of Tabuk. He did not take part in it because the Messenger of Allah ordered him to take part in it.  

Abu Nuaym describes Hz. Ali in his book called Hilya as follows:

"Ali b. Abi Talib is the master of his tribe, lover of the Prophet and the beloved one of Allah. He is the gate of the city of knowledge and the leading personality of religious talks. He has the ability to deduce great meanings from small signs; he is the flag of those entering the way of truth, the light of those who obey Allah, the friend of muttaqis and the leader of those who keep justice up. Among the Companions, he is the first one to answer the call of the Prophet (pbuh), the strongest one in terms of deducing decrees and deeply-rooted belief, the one with the most tenderminded and the most knowledgeable one. He is the model for muttaqis and evidence for those who attained the secret of marifatullah (knowledge of Allah). He informed people about the truths of oneness and indicated the important aspects of the science of fiqh. He had a heart that understood, a tongue that asked questions a lot and an ear that did not forget what it heard. He always kept his promise and tried to eliminate the source of mischief. He underwent various tests and trials but he was always saved from falling into bad deeds. He dismissed those who broke their promises and contracts. He punished the oppressors and defeated those who exited the religion of Islam. His devotion to Allah is endless." (Abu Nuaym, Hilya, 1/61)

5. Sa'd Bin Abi Waqqas (ra):

He is among the first Companions. Hz. Sa'd is among the first ones who migrated to Madinah after the permission of migration. He took part in all battles beginning from the Battle of Badr and he became very useful in almost all of the battles he joined. The fact that the arrows he shot hit the targets in the Battle of Uhud attracted the attention of Hz. Muhammad (pbuh); the Prophet said, "May my mother and father be sacrificed for you!" to him and gave his arrows to Sa’d saying, "May Allah be pleased with you! Throw these arrows too!"

6. Abdurrahman b. Awf (ra):

One of the most important aspects of Hz. Abdurrahman is that he took part in all of the battles in which the Prophet (pbuh) took part. This famous Companion, who took part in all battles and wars from Badr to the Conquest of Makkah and from Hunayn to Tabuk, fought heroically and bravely in those battles. One of the blessed people who surrounded the Messenger of Allah and defended him during the Battle of Uhud was Hz. Abdurrahman. As a matter of fact, he became lame after the Battle of Uhud due to more than twenty wounds caused by arrows and spears.

7. Abu Ubayda bin Jarrah (ra):

The Prophet (pbuh) called him "the reliable person of the ummah"; Hz. Umar said, "If Abu Ubayda were alive, I would appoint him as the caliph."

Abu Ubayda was 27 years old when he became a Muslim. After the tortures and torments of the polytheists increased in Makkah, he took part in the second migration to Abyssinia with the permission of the Prophet. He stayed in Abyssinia for a while and migrated to Madinah afterwards.  

When Abu Ubayda saw his father among the polytheists at the Battle of Badr, he tried not to encounter him but his father followed him insistently in order to kill him; he had to kill his father though he did not want to.

"Thou wilt not find any people who believe in Allah and the Last Day, loving those who resist Allah and His Messenger, even though they were their fathers or their sons, or their brothers, or their kindred. For such He has written Faith in their hearts, and strengthened them with a spirit from Himself. And He will admit them to Gardens beneath which Rivers flow, to dwell therein (for ever). Allah will be well pleased with them, and they with Him. They are the Party of Allah. Truly it is the Party of Allah that will achieve Felicity." (al-Mujadala, 58/22)

It is narrated that the verse above was sent down upon that incident. It is possible to see the special place of Abu Ubayda in the eye of Allah in the verse above.

8. Talha Bin Ubaydullah (ra):

Hz. Talha was a person who was tormented along with Hz. Abu Bakr. Nawfal b. Khuwaylid tied both of them with a rope and nobody opposed to what Nawfal, who was called 'the Liion of Quraysh' did. This torment, which was endured for the sake of Islam, left a nice name behind that reached us. Yes, since Hz. Abu Bakr and Hz. Talha were tied with the same rope, they were given the nickname 'Qarinayn', which could be translated as ‘two inseparable friends’.

9. Zubayr bin Avvam (ra):

Hz. Zubayr always supported what was true and right throughout his life; he did not heed anything that happened to him on this way. As a matter of fact, he did not heed the torments and tortures that he suffered after becoming a Muslim.

Our Lord, who has vast mercy, did not allow humanity to be drowned in darkness any longer and sent the Prophet to take humanity out of darkness to light. One of the people who accepted his call was Hz. Zubayr. There were only five or six Muslims then.

Once, Hz. Zubayr drew his sword and went out of his house. It was not known where he was going and what he was going to do. Suddenly, he was astonished when he saw the Prophet. The Prophet was also surprised to see him like that. It was later understood that he rushed out because he heard that the Prophet had been martyred and vowed to kill anybody who would encounter him. The Prophet congratulated him for his loyalty to Islam. As you can see, it is not easy to be an apostle of the Prophet. That was the first sword drawn in Islam.  

10. Said. b. Zayd (ra):

Hz. Said heard the prayers of his father who said, "O Allah! I do not know how to worship you. If I knew, I would worship you like that." Hz. Said, who grew hearing prayers to God, became a believer as soon as he saw the Messenger of Allah and attained the rank that his father could not. When he became a believer, he told the Prophet (pbuh) about his father and wanted him to pray for his father. The Prophet (pbuh) prayed for him and gave Said the glad tiding that "his father would be resurrected as an ummah on his own", which made Said very happy.

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