Combining the Hadith of the Strangeness of Islam and the Hadith of the Victorious Group

Question:
How do you reconcile the hadith with the hadith: ?

Answer:
There is no contradiction between them: the first is evident from reality. Its full text is: , and in a narration other than Muslim’s: and in another narration: .
The second hadith indicates the persistence of reform, da'wah, knowledge, and education. It contains the glad tidings that there is a group that remains manifest upon the truth. Thus, strangeness does not contradict the group, and it is not necessary for them to be in one place. The truth must remain until the Dajjal emerges and until the wind comes.
Moreover, this strangeness may increase in one region and decrease in another. Strangeness may have multiple meanings: the prevalence of religious innovations, the denial of congregational prayer, or the failure to enjoin good and forbid evil. Among the greatest of these is the strangeness of the people of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and the prevalence of shirk (associating partners with Allah). We ask Allah for safety.
Islam may become manifest in one direction and be better there than before, as is the case in reality. It may also be better in one time period than in another.
As for the hadith: , it is understood to apply to the majority of cases, so it does not preclude that it may be better in some times than before, as occurred in the time of 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, for his time was better than the time of Sulayman and al-Walid. It was also the case in the time of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and his student Ibn al-Qayyim, where the Sunnah became manifest and refutations were directed against the innovators. It was also the case in the Peninsula after the call of Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him).