how did the sahaba do it?

As-Salaam alaikum,
Further to that explanation, I wish to add that if you closeley examine ayat 164 of Surah Al-Imrof the Holy Qur'an (3:164), you will understand why/how the Companions of the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam,came to be special/mindful servants of Allah Ta'ala. The ayat reads:-- "Indeed, Allah conferred a great blessing upon the believers when He sent aming them a Messenger from among themselves reciting unto them His signs, purifying them, and teaching them the Book and the Wisdom, while before that they had been in manifest error." This "PURIFICATION" means that Allah's Messenger Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam,ressiondeveloped the character of his companions upon the teachings of the Qur'an. The Holy Qur'an was transformed within their personalities from a mere wrtten word into a practical expression of life in the real world. When Allah Ta'ala speaks about the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam PURIFYING those to whom he came, He is talking about how he taught them proper beliefs, lofty moral values, nobility of conduct, and what they needed to prepare them for the role of leading humanity which was required of them...results of which we see and admire today.

On top of what you said, they were low in number, but they had leadership and they were unified. Today, we have the numbers but lack the leadership and definitely lack the unity. Instead of living by our own laws, we have to abide by what other countries tell us to do or else the sanctions and democracy (ie. F16s) start rolling in if we stray too far from the script.Divide and conquer holds true here. Over the years, Muslims have been liberalized (?) and are now even advocating for the LGBTQ+- types. These issues will continue to build upon themselves over time. As a non scholar, all I can say is to stick to the early teachings of this religion and when it comes to matters in this life, stick to the things that are necessary for us and leave the rest alone.

format_quote Originally Posted by Abu Fauzi

As-Salaam alaikum,
Further to that explanation, I wish to add that if you closeley examine ayat 164 of Surah Al-Imrof the Holy Qur'an (3:164), you will understand why/how the Companions of the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam,came to be special/mindful servants of Allah Ta'ala. The ayat reads:-- "Indeed, Allah conferred a great blessing upon the believers when He sent aming them a Messenger from among themselves reciting unto them His signs, purifying them, and teaching them the Book and the Wisdom, while before that they had been in manifest error." This "PURIFICATION" means that Allah's Messenger Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam,ressiondeveloped the character of his companions upon the teachings of the Qur'an. The Holy Qur'an was transformed within their personalities from a mere wrtten word into a practical expression of life in the real world. When Allah Ta'ala speaks about the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam PURIFYING those to whom he came, He is talking about how he taught them proper beliefs, lofty moral values, nobility of conduct, and what they needed to prepare them for the role of leading humanity which was required of them...results of which we see and admire today.

subhanAllah interesting prespective

format_quote Originally Posted by Simply_Logical

how did they fast most the time, sleep little but worship all night?

who said they fasted all the time?..they fasted a lot but not all the time,not everyday,as you have a hadith that the prophet didnt like that.
slept little yeah,but they got better quality of sleep.What time do you sleep? do you sleep immediately after isha?.In germany for example,if you sleep immediately after isha,youd get supreme sleep quality,with 6 hours of sleep its like you slept 12 hours.I saw a video at mercifulservant where the guy said sleep before midnight is as if you sleep double.1 hour is like 2 hours.Lets say max you sleep at 7 at wake up at 2.Fajr is at 6:30.You have 4 hours and a half time for worship.

Ofc there are many others reasons,including all what you said,they were with the prophet saws so thats enough for everything.
But they lived in diff times,they didnt live in post industrial revolution time,where you have to work 8 hours a day min,where you need 2-3 hours for commute,then you need at least another hour at home to prepare for it.11-12 hours of your life are wasted working,and we cant wait for the leave once a year,to feel that sense of freedom.Shaytan is making us trade our time and energy for the minimal wage.We are all slaves of the system of dajjal,we are touched by the dust of ribah,we go out of home and immediately are met with women dressed with provocating clothes,theres big fitnah everywhere.Its like we live in two diff planets,not even the air is the same.
We can never be in the level of sahaba,but we can try our best to be the best of our time.Someone from another period may say the same for us,where did we find all the strengh.