Bayan Al-Hadith › Sahih Muslim › The Book of the Merits of the Companions
Sahih Muslim 2533dصحيح مسلم 2533d
وَحَدَّثَنِي الْحَسَنُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ الْحُلْوَانِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا أَزْهَرُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ السَّمَّانُ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَوْنٍ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنْ عَبِيدَةَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " خَيْرُ النَّاسِ قَرْنِي ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ " . فَلاَ أَدْرِي فِي الثَّالِثَةِ أَوْ فِي الرَّابِعَةِ قَالَ " ثُمَّ يَتَخَلَّفُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ خَلْفٌ تَسْبِقُ شَهَادَةُ أَحَدِهِمْ يَمِينَهُ وَيَمِينُهُ شَهَادَتَهُ " .
'Abdullah (b. Mas'ud) reported Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) as saying: The best among people are of my generation, then those next to them. (The narrator said): I do not know whether (he said) it three times or four times. Then there would fellow after them such persons whose evidence would precede the oath, and in case of some others, the oath (would precede) the evidence.
Grading
Sahih (authentic by the consensus of hadith scholars)
Chain of narrators
الحسن بن علي بن محمد ← أزهر بن سعد ← عبد الله بن عون ← إبراهيم بن يزيد بن قيس ← عبيدة بن عمرو ← عبد الله بن عمر
Al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Muhammad → Azhar ibn Sa'd → Abdullah ibn Awn → Ibrahim ibn Yazid ibn Qays → Ubayda ibn Amr → Ibn `Umar