Abdullah ibn Muhiriz narrates that he once encountered a companion of the Holy Prophet – Al-Ouzayi narrates that the man went by the name of Abu Jum’a. Then, he asked the man to narrate a hadith from the Holy Prophet (greetings be upon him and his household). The man answered, “I will surely narrate a good hadith for you: One day, we were having a meal with the Holy Prophet. Abu Abaydah ibn Jarrah was present in our company as well. We asked the Holy Prophet, ‘Are there any people better than us because we believed in you and fought alongside you?’ The Holy Prophet answered, ‘Yes, after you there will be a group of people from among my Ummah who will believe in me without even having seen me.’”
Abdullah ibn Muhiriz says that he once encountered a companion of the Holy Prophet – Al-Ouzayi says that he went by the name of Abu Jum’a. Then, he asked the man to narrate a hadith from the Holy Prophet (greetings be upon him and his household).
Abdullah ibn Muhiriz found the opportunity to meet with one of the companions of the Holy Prophet. Al-Ouzayi reckons that he went by the name of Abu Jum’a. So, he asked the man to narrate a hadith for them.
The man answered, “I will surely narrate a good hadith for you: One day, we were having a meal with the Holy Prophet. Abu Abaydah ibn Jarrah was present in our company as well. We asked the Holy Prophet, ‘Are there any people better than us because we believed in you and fought alongside you?’”
That companion mentioned that he would shortly narrate a good hadith: One day, we were at the house of the Holy Prophet and we were having a meal with him. Abu Aayidah – one of the well-known companions of the Holy Prophet was present as well. So, we asked him, do you anyone who is better than us because we believed in you first, then we practiced Islam and after that, we went to war with you. What better than this? Do you know anyone better?
The Holy Prophet answered, “Yes, after you there will be a group of people from among my Ummah who will believe in me without even having seen me.”
The Holy Prophet (greetings be upon him and his household) stated that those who believe in me without even seeing me are superior to you. We read in Dua Samat, “We believed in him while we did not really see him.” The Arabic phrase “sidqan wa adlan” functions as an adverb for “we believed.” Those who have not seen that source of light, those miracles of his and his influence and those who have not had a chance to see that manifestation of monotheism, morality, virtue and all the lofty dreams that might occur to the best individuals – in other words, the Holy Prophet (greetings be upon him and his household) – and despite that, they believed in him, carried out their religious obligations and engaged in jihad in the way of God. Well, it is evident that such individuals are better than those companions. And this is logically and rationally correct.
Imam (may God bestow paradise on him) once said, “Those who live today are either better than the companions of the Holy Prophet or at least, they are not inferior to them.” And this is the truth of the matter. Those pious and sincere youth who abandon all the pleasures of life, youthful dreams, all desires and wishes, a comfortable life and their parents, spouses and children in order to engage in the way of God – be that fighting in the Sacred Defense, like in the past, or defending the Holy Shrines or defending security – are better than the companions of the Holy Prophet in the early Islamic era.
One should appreciate the value of this condition. The way to do so is to really and truly carry out one’s duties the way it is expected of us: in particular, we clergy who are considered as points of reference for the people’s religious affairs as they refer to us in order to ask their religious questions. Therefore, we should be committed to religion.
If we impose this commitment on ourselves urging ourselves to observe piety, to avoid committing sins and to be indifferent to the materialistic aspects and beauties of the world, we will certainly be better than them.