عَنْ عِمْرَانَ بْنَ حُصَيْنٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: «خَيْرُ أُمَّتِي قَرْنِي، ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ، ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ - قَالَ عِمْرَانُ: فَلاَ أَدْرِي، أَذَكَرَ بَعْدَ قَرْنِهِ قَرْنَيْنِ أَوْ ثَلاَثًا؟ - ثُمَّ إِنَّ بَعْدَكُمْ قَوْمًا يَشْهَدُونَ وَلاَ يُسْتَشْهَدُونَ، وَيَخُونُونَ وَلاَ يُؤْتَمَنُونَ، وَيَنْذِرُونَ وَلاَ يَفُونَ، وَيَظْهَرُ فِيهِمُ السِّمَنُ».
‘Imrān ibn Ḥuṣayn narrated that God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said:
The best of my community are my generation, then those who follow them, then those who follow. ‘Imrān said: I am unsure whether God’s Messenger said twice or three times after his generation. Then there will come after them people who bear witness without being asked; are untrue to a trust, pledge but do not fulfil, and obesity will spread among them.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) stated that the best of people are his companions who were his contemporaries. Next were the tābi‘īn, i.e. the generation that followed the Prophet’s companions, and then the generation that followed. He then said that corruption would spread after those noble generations. Then there would be people who would be unscrupulous in their testimony, untrue to their trust, and who would not honour their commitments. They would prefer to enjoy the pleasures of this life, and this would leave its mark on them.
