وَلَا نُفْرِطُ فِي حُبِّ أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ
We do not go to excess in love for any of them.
Loving the Companions and speaking well of them form part of religious respect. Avoiding excess does not mean abandoning love; it means preserving the rightful rank and limits of that love.
Affirming the order and virtues of the Rightly Guided Caliphs does not negate respect for other Companions, the Prophet’s wives and his family. Recognition of merit belongs alongside restraint from disparagement.