The ruling on comparing the virtues of the later generations with those of the earlier generations

Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, regarding the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), “The best of my community is my generation,” and in another hadith we found, “If we had seen our brothers…” until he said, “The reward of one of them is like the reward of fifty of you.”

Answer:
Yes, this is correct. It is possible for someone among the later generations to possess a virtue that the earlier generations did not have, but this does not indicate that he is absolutely better than the earlier generations; rather, he is better than them only in this specific trait. The scholars say that a specific virtue does not override a general virtue. So, this person is better than the Companions because he believed in the Messenger without seeing him, whereas the Companions saw him. The time of the Companions was a time of supporters and helpers for the truth. Will there come in the last times a person who has no supporters and no helpers, and yet he remains firm upon the truth? This person is better than the Companions in this specific trait. As for the Companions, they are better than him in many great traits. Yes.