In Surah Nisaa, Allah says:
Translation: And who-so-ever obeys Allah and the Messenger, shall be with those whom Allah has blessed-the Prophets, the truthful (siddiyqin) and the martyrs (shuhada) and the righteous (saliheen). What excellent companions these are that one may get! [Surah An-Nisaa, verse 69]
Prophets are those Allah blessed with divine revelation. Allahu ‘alim, all prophets carry some sort of miracles. Regarding the other three, Mawdudi states1:
- Truthful (Siddiyq): One who is upright and just: who is always actuated by truth and righteousness; who is fair and equitable in all his dealings; who always sides with truth and justice from the core of his heart; who opposes, [with no restraint], all that is unfair, without showing the least weakness; who is so pure and so unselfish that both friends and foes expect nothing but impartiality from him.
- Martyr (Shaheed): The literal meaning of shahid is “a witness”. It implies the one who bears witness to the truth of his Faith by following it in all aspects of his life. A martyr also is a shahid because he willingly suffers death by fighting in the cause of Allah. By sacrificing his life for the cause he believes to be true, he gives a practical demonstration of the sincerity of his Faith. Those righteous people who are so trustworthy that their mere evidence for anything to be true is a sufficient proof of its genuineness are also shahid.
- Righteous (Salih): One who is upright in his beliefs, intentions, words and actions and adopts the right attitude in every aspect of life.
Of the four, there is a scholarly difference of opinion. One opinion is that they are four stations in paradise. The other opinion is that they are not mutually exclusive (like seperate stations). Allah Allmighty knows best. If you achieve one of the three, you’re set for both lives inshaAllah.
Abu Bakr As-Siddique got his label (as-siddique, “the truthful”) from the incident of the Prophet’s israa wal miraaj (journey and ascension).
And yes, we can reach these levels of Paradise. The famous hadith about the best of nations being the sahaba, and then the tabi’een, and then the tabi-tabi’een: at a community level, yes, they are the best. At the individual level, we can reach those levels of paradise (minus the Prophet one) inshaAllah.
In Surah Waqi’a, Allah says (about those in Paradise):
Translation: In the Gardens of Pleasure, a [large] company of the former peoples, and a few of the later peoples. [Surah Al-Waaqi’ah, verses 12-14]
May Allah make us of those mentioned in these verses, ameen.