Are those who apostatized after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) considered among the Companions or not?

The questioner : Al-Hafiz (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned in Fath al-Bari that some scholars said that those who apostatized after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) are Companions. What is the evidence for that? Are they Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?

The Shaykh : Those who apostatized and those who did not apostatize.

The questioner : He mentioned it, and there is disagreement regarding it.

The Shaykh : And those who did not apostatize. According to this opinion, those who did not apostatize are not Companions. The apparent view is the opposite, because some scholars say that if a Companion apostatizes, his status as a Companion is invalidated. He alluded to this in Nukhbat al-Fikr, saying, “Even if apostasy occurred in between, in the correct opinion.” This means that a Companion is one who met the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while believing in him and died upon that belief, even if apostasy occurred between his belief in the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and his death upon Islam. What? What?

The questioner : After the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he is not a Companion.

The Shaykh : No, no, there is disagreement. That is why he said, “Even if apostasy occurred in between, in the correct opinion.”