How to reconcile the two hadiths, the first being his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):

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The questioner : How do we understand these two hadiths? The first hadith is the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him):

The parable of my Ummah is that of a rain; it is not known if its beginning is better or its end.

مثل أمتي مثل المطر لا يُدرى أوله الخير أم آخره

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2869Da'if (Darussalam)

and his saying:

The best of people is my generation

خير الناس قرني

?

The Shaykh : The first hadith does not contradict the other hadith:

The best of people is my generation

خير الناس قرني

to the end. This hadith prefers the first generation over the second, and the second over the third. However, the second hadith—his saying (peace be upon him):

My Ummah is like the rain; it is not known whether the good is in its beginning or its end.

أمتي كالمطر لا يُدرى الخير في أوَّله أم في آخره

As for the Salaf, the good was known in them; indeed, it was known that they were the best good found on the face of the earth, in the order mentioned in

The best of people

خير الناس

.
As for the other hadith

My Ummah is like rain; it is not known whether the good is in its beginning or its end.

أمتي كالمطر لا يُدرى الخير في أوله أم في آخره

; it is merely a glad tidings from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that there may be good in the end of the Ummah. This does not negate that there is good in the beginning of the Ummah, for he affirmed that with the mass-transmitted hadith I mentioned earlier. He only intends to instill hope in the Ummah and cut off their despair of mercy. He says that good may be in the end of this Ummah just as it was in its beginning. The hadiths that explicitly state his words, such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):

A group of people from my Umma will always remain triumphant on the right path and continue to be triumphant (against their opponents). He who deserts them shall not be able to do them any harm. They will remain in this position until Allah's Command is executed

لا تزال طائفة من أمتي ظاهرين على الحقِّ ؛ لا يضرُّهم من خالفهم حتى يأتي أمر الله

Sahih Muslim 1920

, or in a narration:

Until the Hour is established

حتى تقوم الساعة

; this is evidence that good continues in the Ummah and does not cease, but it is not like the good that was in the first of the Ummah, in the three centuries.
Similarly, his (peace and blessings be upon him) glad tidings to this Ummah regarding the emergence of the Mahdi and the descent of 'Isa (peace be upon him) in the end of times, such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):

The world will not end

لا تنقضي الدنيا

, and in a narration:

The world will not end until a man emerges whose name matches my name, and whose father's name matches my father's name; he will fill the earth with justice and equity just as it was filled with tyranny and oppression.

لا تذهب الدنيا حتى يخرج رجلٌ يُوافق اسمُه اسمي ، واسمُ أبيه اسمَ أبي ؛ يملأ الأرض قسطًا وعدلًا كما مُلئت جورًا وظلمًا

, and his saying (peace be upon him) regarding the descent of 'Isa:

How will it be with you when 'Isa ibn Maryam descends among you and leads you in prayer?

كيف بكم إذا نزل عيسى ابن مريم فيكم وأمَّكم منكم ؟!

, and also the hadiths that came specifically about 'Isa (peace be upon him), some of which state that the prostration in those days will be better than the world and what is in it. Therefore, his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):

My Ummah is like rain; it is not known whether the good is in its beginning or its end.

أمتي كالمطر لا يُدرى الخير في أوله أم في آخره

means only that good does not cease from this Ummah, even if it is more abundant in the earlier centuries.

Source www.al-albany.com

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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