The ruling on the hadith: Allah looked at the people of the earth before His sending
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Question:
The questioner: Honorable Shaykh, what is the chain of the hadith that says Allah looked at the people of the earth before His sending, and He found none of them except the remnants of the people of al-Hijaz, or as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said? What is the authenticity of this hadith? And were there any among the people of al-Hijaz before his (peace and blessings be upon him) sending who were upon the truth?
Answer:
The Shaykh: Yes, it is a well-known hadith among the people of knowledge. As for this specific chain, that is what comes to my mind now, but the people of knowledge cite it, especially Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Kathir, who frequently mentions this hadith. And yes, there were among themSahih Muslim 2865a such as Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him), who was upon the religion of the People of the Book, the correct religion, not the forbidden religion. He was upon the correct religion, the correct religion of Isa (peace be upon him), and he was seeking it because...
The Shaykh: ...because the scholars from whom he received knowledge among the Christians used to mention that he was asked about the end of time, and he was seeking the sending of this Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). So the matter led him to come to al-Madinah, and he became a slave to some of the Jews in al-Madinah. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) migrated to al-Madinah, he was among the first to respond to him, and he declared his Islam, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) freed him; he bought him and then freed him.
The Shaykh: He was upon the religion of the People of the Book, the correct religion, but the majority of the righteous among the People of the Book had perished before that, and only a few remained. This is all except for a few like Salman, the righteous ones. As for the People of the Book who distorted the Furqan, they are the Jews and the Christians, but the discussion is about the righteous among them, the good ones, who are few. It was read before Friday except for a small remnant like Salman,
The questioner: Honorable Shaykh, what is the chain of the hadith that says Allah looked at the people of the earth before His sending, and He found none of them except the remnants of the people of al-Hijaz, or as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said? What is the authenticity of this hadith? And were there any among the people of al-Hijaz before his (peace and blessings be upon him) sending who were upon the truth?
Answer:
The Shaykh: Yes, it is a well-known hadith among the people of knowledge. As for this specific chain, that is what comes to my mind now, but the people of knowledge cite it, especially Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Kathir, who frequently mentions this hadith. And yes, there were among them
some remnants from the People of the Book
بقايا من أهل الكتابThe Shaykh: ...because the scholars from whom he received knowledge among the Christians used to mention that he was asked about the end of time, and he was seeking the sending of this Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). So the matter led him to come to al-Madinah, and he became a slave to some of the Jews in al-Madinah. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) migrated to al-Madinah, he was among the first to respond to him, and he declared his Islam, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) freed him; he bought him and then freed him.
The Shaykh: He was upon the religion of the People of the Book, the correct religion, but the majority of the righteous among the People of the Book had perished before that, and only a few remained. This is all except for a few like Salman, the righteous ones. As for the People of the Book who distorted the Furqan, they are the Jews and the Christians, but the discussion is about the righteous among them, the good ones, who are few. It was read before Friday except for a small remnant like Salman,
Source
صحة حديث: «إن الله نظر إلى أهل الأرض قبل بعثتي» — alfawzan.live
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.