It is narrated from Sayyida Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) that a man asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): "Which era is the best for the people?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: "The era in which I am, then the one after that, and then the one after that."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: A time will come upon the people when they will participate in battle, and during that time it will be asked, "Is there any Companion among you?" They will reply, "Yes!" So they will be granted victory. After that, there will be another battle, and during that time it will be asked, "Is there any Tabi'i among you?" They will say, "Yes!" Thus, they too will be granted victory. After that, there will again be a battle among the people, and during that time it will be asked, "Is there any Tabi' al-Tabi'in among you?" They will say, "Yes!" So they too will be granted victory.

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.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked: Who among the people is the most honorable? He replied: The one who fears Allah the most. The companions said: We did not ask about this. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Then the most honorable among the people is Allah’s Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him), whose father was also a prophet, whose grandfather was also a prophet, and whose great-grandfather was the Friend of Allah (Khalilullah). The companions said: Our question was not about this either. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Then are you asking about the mines of the Arabs (i.e., different people)? People are like mines; the best among them in the pre-Islamic era are the best in Islam as well, provided they gain understanding of the religion.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever deceives the Arabs will neither be included in my intercession nor will he attain my love.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Salman Farsi (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: O Salman! Do not bear enmity towards me, for such enmity will drive you away from the religion. I said: O Messenger of Allah! Through you, Allah Almighty has guided us, how could I bear enmity towards you? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If you bear enmity towards the Arabs, it is as if you bear enmity towards me.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Only a hypocrite will harbor enmity towards the Arabs.