Hadith #588
Arabic Text
حَدَّثَنَا حَسَنٌ وَيُونُسُ قَالَا حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ عَنْ عَاصِمِ بْنِ بَهْدَلَةَ عَنْ خَيْثَمَةَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ عَنِ النُّعْمَانِ بْنِ بَشِيرٍ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ
خَيْرُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ الْقَرْنُ الَّذِينَ بُعِثْتُ فِيهِمْ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ قَالَ حَسَنٌ ثُمَّ يَنْشَأُ أَقْوَامٌ تَسْبِقُ أَيْمَانُهُمْ شَهَادَتَهُمْ وَشَهَادَتُهُمْ أَيْمَانَهُمْ
Isnad Chain
حسن ويونس
حماد بن سلمة
عاصم بن بهدلة
خيثمة بن عبد الرحمن
النعمان بن بشير
English Translation
Ḥasan and Yūnus narrated to us, they said: Ḥammād ibn Salamah narrated to us, from ʿĀṣim ibn Bahdlah, from Khaythamah ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, from al-Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr رضي الله عنه — that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: 'The best of this ummah is the generation among whom I was sent, then those who follow them, then those who follow them, then those who follow those who follow them.' Ḥasan said: 'Then there will arise people whose oaths precede their testimony and whose testimony precedes their oaths.'
Quran References
Reference: Musnad Ahmad, Book 34, Hadith 588
Sunnah.com ref: Musnad Ahmad 17626
Islam.wiki ID: IWH-54016