And we believe that the best of this Ummah are the Companions, then the Tabi'un, then those who follow them.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : He said: "And we believe that the best of this Ummah are the Companions" As a group or as individuals?
The student: As a group and as individuals.
The Shaykh : As a group and as individuals, in one sense only, which is companionship. In companionship, no one will ever equal them, because everyone after them is not a Companion. But there are other things, as we mentioned before; the causes of excellence are many. A Tabi'i may surpass a Companion in some of these matters, as we also mentioned to you just now, that the reward of one person in the days of patience is like the reward of fifty. There may be among the Tabi'un an imam in knowledge, an imam in calling to Allah, an imam in enjoining good and forbidding evil, an imam in everything related to the religion, and this is not found in a Companion who came to Madinah, believed in the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and then returned to his camels. But companionship, who can attain it? No one after them.
So, in terms of the general, they are the best, the Companions. In terms of the specific, meaning each individual in isolation, there may be virtues for those after them, not just one virtue that came to this specific individual.
"Then the Tabi'un" We say about them what we said about the Companions, meaning: this class of the Ummah, as a group, is better than those after them, but there may be among the followers of the Tabi'un someone who is much better than the Tabi'un.
"Then those who follow them" How many generations are these? Three, and these are the generations that scholars refer to as the preferred generations, which are mentioned in the hadith of 'Umar ibn al-Husayn.
We say: the Companions, then the Tabi'un, then the followers of the Tabi'un, and these are the preferred generations that scholars refer to with this expression, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said in the hadith of 'Umar ibn al-Husayn:Sahih al-Bukhari 3651, then the many diverse classes follow.
The Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "The further the time is from the Message, the weaker the excellence becomes; the further the time is from the Message, the weaker the excellence becomes". And this is derived from the statement of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) when the people complained to him about what they were experiencing from al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi. He said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say:. Yes. Has the time ended? We stop here. A good stop. Yes.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Who is it?
The student: As a group and as individuals.
The Shaykh : As a group and as individuals, in one sense only, which is companionship. In companionship, no one will ever equal them, because everyone after them is not a Companion. But there are other things, as we mentioned before; the causes of excellence are many. A Tabi'i may surpass a Companion in some of these matters, as we also mentioned to you just now, that the reward of one person in the days of patience is like the reward of fifty. There may be among the Tabi'un an imam in knowledge, an imam in calling to Allah, an imam in enjoining good and forbidding evil, an imam in everything related to the religion, and this is not found in a Companion who came to Madinah, believed in the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and then returned to his camels. But companionship, who can attain it? No one after them.
So, in terms of the general, they are the best, the Companions. In terms of the specific, meaning each individual in isolation, there may be virtues for those after them, not just one virtue that came to this specific individual.
"Then the Tabi'un" We say about them what we said about the Companions, meaning: this class of the Ummah, as a group, is better than those after them, but there may be among the followers of the Tabi'un someone who is much better than the Tabi'un.
"Then those who follow them" How many generations are these? Three, and these are the generations that scholars refer to as the preferred generations, which are mentioned in the hadith of 'Umar ibn al-Husayn.
We say: the Companions, then the Tabi'un, then the followers of the Tabi'un, and these are the preferred generations that scholars refer to with this expression, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said in the hadith of 'Umar ibn al-Husayn:
The best people are those living in my generation, and then those who will follow them, and then those who will follow the latter
خير الناس قرني ثم الذين يلونهم ثم الذين يلونهمThe Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "The further the time is from the Message, the weaker the excellence becomes; the further the time is from the Message, the weaker the excellence becomes". And this is derived from the statement of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) when the people complained to him about what they were experiencing from al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi. He said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say:
No time will come upon the people but that the time after it is worse than it, until you meet your Lord.
لا يأتي على الناس زمان إلا وما بعده شر منه حتى تلقوا ربكمThe student: ... .
The Shaykh : Who is it?