The companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) were exemplary in their commitment to Islam. They realized the great change in their lives as a result of embracing Islam and living according to its teachings. When they compared their life under Islam with how they lived before it, they felt that Islam gave them a noble purpose in life and stamped out evil from their way of life. Hence, they were dedicated to its service, defended it with everything they had, were ready to sacrifice themselves for its cause. They carried its message of light and justice to other communities. They had, however, to meet stiff opposition from different quarters, with opponents defending their interests, privileges, power and position. When Islam became well established in Arabia, the two great empires of the time, the Persian and the Byzantine, stood in opposition to it. The Muslims had to fight many battles against both empires, scoring victory after victory over several decades. This is referred to in the following Hadith in which Abu Saeed Al-Khudri quotes the Prophet as saying: “A time will come when groups of people will be on a military expedition. They will be asked whether any in their group was a companion of God’s messenger. They will answer in the affirmative and victory will be granted to them. Then in another generation groups of people will be on a military expedition and they will be asked whether some of them were in company of the Prophet’s companions. They will answer in the affirmative and victory will be granted to them. Yet another generation will be raised and groups of people will be facing opponents in battle. They will be asked whether some of them were associated with those who immediately followed the Prophet’s companions. When they answer in the affirmative, they will be granted victory.” (Related by Ahmad, Al-Bukhari and Muslim).

This is an authentic Hadith that speaks about the special position of those early generations of Muslims. To a casual reader, the Hadith may suggest it was enough that the presence in an army of one soldier who was a friend to a person of the Tabieen generation, which followed the Prophet’s companions, would be enough to guarantee victory in any battle. The Prophet did not imply any such notion, because victory is not guaranteed for anyone. During his own lifetime, the Muslims suffered a heavy defeat in the Battle of Uhud when a company of them disobeyed his express orders not to leave their positions. There are specific requirements which any Muslim community should fulfill before they are granted victory. These include total dedication to the Islamic cause and commitment to implement its teachings, values and principles. When these requirements are met, then the presence of a companion of the Prophet or one of the following two generations is an additional factor that brings victory closer.

This gives us an indication that those three generations were the best of all Muslim generations. This is confirmed in several Hadiths of which we quote a few. Abdullah ibn Masood quotes the Prophet as saying: “The best of people are my contemporaries, then the generation to follow, then those who follow them. After that there will be people among whom you find some whose testimony comes ahead of their oaths and whose oaths come ahead of their testimony.” (Related by Ahmad, Al-Bukhari, Muslim and Al-Tirmidhi). Imran ibn Husayn quotes the Prophet as saying: “The best among my community are the generation witnessing my message, then the generation that follows, then the generation after that. There will then follow people who come forward to testify when they are not asked, who make pledges but do not honor them, who betray and cannot be trusted, and among whom obesity will spread.” (Related by Ahmad, Al-Bukhari, Abu Dawood and Al-Nassaie).

These Hadiths make clear that the first three generations of Muslims were diligent in the implementation of Islamic values and principles. This is what distinguishes them among all generations and all communities. The fact that the Prophet grades these three generations, saying that the first is the best, and the next one comes second does not mean that this sort of ranking proceeds for the rest of time, with each generation better then the one that follows. It only specifies those three, telling us that values will change and people will be different. He cites certain qualities that are contrary to Islamic principles and says that these will begin to appear in following generations. The first one is that people will come forward to testify when they are not needed. It is not deemed by a court of law that their testimony is of relevance, yet they come forward as witnesses. They do this either to appear important, or to try to influence the course of justice. They are not motivated by any sense of justice, feeling that they have very relevant information that must be told.

Their other qualities confirm that they are not to be trusted. When they give a pledge to God, they do not honor it. A basic quality of a good believer is that when he or she gives a pledge to God, they must fulfill it. No one in this life is aware of their pledges if they are made in private. A person may pledge to God that should something happen in a particular way, he would offer so many prayers, or fast so many days, or give so much in charity. There is no human authority to compel such people to be true to their pledges. Fulfilment of such pledges must come from within.

If they are untrue to what they commit themselves to do for God’s sake, they are less likely to be honest in their dealings with other people. Hence, the Prophet describes them as ready to betray their trusts and that they cannot be trusted. This is certainly one of the worst qualities a person may have. A good person should always be true to his word, fulfilling his trust. Yet these people cannot be trusted.

Their last quality mentioned by the Prophet is that obesity will spread among them. It does not mean that every single one of them will be overweight. What it means is that they will attach too much importance to pleasure and eating, neglecting their duties.