It is narrated from Sayyiduna Nu’man bin Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: The best era of this Ummah and the best people are those among whom I was sent. After them will come those who will come after this era, then those who will come after them, then those who will come after them. Then there will come people whose oaths will precede their testimonies and whose testimonies will precede their oaths.

It is narrated from Abdullah bin Mula, he says: I was walking with Sayyiduna Buraidah Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: The best era of this Ummah is the one in which I was sent, then the era of the Companions, then the era of the Followers (Tabi'in), and then the era of the Followers of the Followers (Taba' Tabi'in). After them, there will come people whose testimony will precede their oaths and their oaths will precede their testimony. Affan narrated it once in this way: The best era is the one in which I was sent, then the era of the Companions, then the era of the Followers, then the era of the Followers of the Followers, and then the era of those who come after.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Imran bin Husain, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "The best time for you is my era, then the era of those who will come after that, then the era of those who will come after them, and then the era of those who will come after them will be better. Then after them, there will come people from whom testimony will not be sought, but they will still give testimony; they will commit betrayals, will not safeguard trusts, they will make vows but will not fulfill them, and obesity will become common among them." Sayyiduna Imran, may Allah be pleased with him, says: "I do not remember whether the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, mentioned two eras after his own or three."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: "Whatever era comes upon you will be worse than the one that has passed." We heard this statement from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) twice.