In today’s era, the political existence of the Muslim Ummah is almost finished, their economies are dependent on other nations, where they are in the minority they are subjected to the oppression of their compatriots, and where they are in the majority, they have become the murderers of each other. Every nation of the world is pouncing on the Muslim Ummah just as a hungry predator pounces on its favorite prey. When Muslims raise their voice against oppression, they are accused of terrorism, creating justification for further oppression.
Dear readers! Why are we facing these situations? Because we have not recognized our status, have not understood the divine wisdom regarding afflictions and calamities, have not recognized the reality of the Muslim Ummah, have not known what blessings Allah has bestowed upon us, we have not reflected on the virtues of this Ummah. In this article under discussion, an attempt has been made to mention some important and noteworthy virtues in the light of authentic Hadiths.
1. The Ummah of Muhammad is the Best of Nations:
Allah Almighty has said:
{كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ}
“You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong.”
[Āl ‘Imrān: 110]
Since the beginning of the world, many nations have been created, but Allah Almighty, with His wisdom and justice, has given فضیلت (virtue/excellence) to some over others. For example, the Children of Israel were the best nation of their time, but they lost these blessings by committing disobedience to Allah. Then Allah sent the Ummah of Muhammad into this world, honoring it with the title of Khair-ul-Ummah (the best of nations).
2. His era was the best era of the children of Adam:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
’’بُعِثْتُ مِنْ خَيْرِ قُرُونِ بَنِي آدَمَ، قَرْنًا فَقَرْنًا، حَتَّي كُنْتُ مِنَ القَرْنِ الَّذِي كُنْتُ فِيهِ‘‘
“I was sent in the best generation of the children of Adam, generation after generation, until I came in the generation in which I was.”
[Sahih al-Bukhari: 3557]
In other words, this hadith clearly shows that the era of the Ummah of Muhammad is better and more virtuous than the eras of other prophets.
3. Blessed with the Blessings of Yawm al-Jumu’ah (Friday):
The Prophet ﷺ said:
’’مَا طَلَعَتِ الشَّمْسُ وَلَا غَرَبَتْ عَلٰي يَوْمٍ خَيْرٍ مِنْ يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ، هَدَانَا اللّٰهُ لَهُ وَأَضَلَّ النَّاسَ عَنْهُ‘‘
“The sun has neither risen nor set on a day better than Friday. Allah guided us to it and other nations were deprived of it.”
[Musnad Ahmad: 10723, Sahih]
Allah Almighty bestowed upon the Ummah of Muhammad a blessed day like Friday, a virtue that other nations did not have, and the virtue of the day of Friday is not hidden from anyone.
4. The Ummah of Muhammad was given an easy religion:
All the hardships and burdens that were placed on other nations by Allah as a trial, the Ummah of Muhammad is free from all those matters. Allah Almighty says:
{هُوَ اجْتَبَاكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ مِلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ}
“He has chosen you and has not placed upon you in the religion any difficulty. [It is] the religion of your father, Abraham.”
[Al-Hajj: 78]
5. The reckoning of the Ummah of Muhammad will be first:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
’’نَحْنُ آخِرُ الْأُمَمِ، وَأَوَّلُ مَنْ يُحَاسَبُ، يُقَال:أَيْنَ الْأُمَّةُ الْأُمِّيَّةُ، وَنَبِيُّهَا؟ فَنَحْنُ الْآخِرُونَ الْأَوَّلُونَ ‘‘
“We are the last of the nations in terms of existence, and the first to be held accountable. It will be said: ‘Where is the unlettered nation and its Prophet?’ So we are the last [to come] but the first [to be judged].”
[Sunan Ibn Majah: 4290, Sahih]
6. The Ummah of Muhammad will be the first to cross the Sirat (bridge):
The Noble Prophet ﷺ said:
’’وَيُضْرَبُ الصِّرَاطُ بَيْنَ ظَهْرَيْ جَهَنَّمَ، فَأَكُونُ أَنَا وَأُمَّتِي أَوَّلَ مَنْ يُجِيزُهَا‘‘
“And the Sirat will be laid across the back of Hell, and I and my Ummah will be the first to pass over it.”
[Sahih al-Bukhari: 7437]
7. The Ummah of Muhammad will be the first to enter Paradise.
Among the virtues with which Allah has blessed the Ummah of Muhammad is that when the reckoning of this Ummah is first, and the crossing of the Sirat is first, then the subsequent stage, i.e., entry into Paradise, will also be granted first to this Ummah. The Prophet ﷺ said:
’’نَحْنُ الْآخِرُونَ الْأَوَّلُونَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ، وَنَحْنُ أَوَّلُ مَنْ يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ‘‘
“We are the last [in time] but the foremost on the Day of Resurrection, and we will be the first to enter Paradise.”
[Sahih Muslim: 855]
8. Half of the people in Paradise will be from the Ummah of Muhammad:
The Noble Prophet ﷺ said:
’’وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ، إِنِّي أَرْجُو أَنْ تَكُونُوا رُبُعَ أَهْلِ الجَنَّةِ فَكَبَّرْنَا، فَقَالَ: أَرْجُو أَنْ تَكُونُوا ثُلُثَ أَهْلِ الجَنَّةِ فَكَبَّرْنَا، فَقَالَ:أَرْجُو أَنْ تَكُونُوا نِصْفَ أَهْلِ الجَنَّةِ فَكَبَّرْنَا ‘‘
“By the One in Whose hand is my soul, I hope that you (the Muslim Ummah) will be one-fourth of the people of Paradise. So we said ‘Allahu Akbar.’ Then he said, ‘I hope that you will be one-third of the people of Paradise.’ So we said ‘Allahu Akbar.’ Then he said, ‘I hope that you will be half of the people of Paradise.’ So we said ‘Allahu Akbar.'”
[Sahih al-Bukhari: 3348]
Dear readers! Paradise, whose width is like that of the heavens and the earth. [Āl ‘Imrān: 133]
Paradise, the distance between the two panels of its gate is a journey of forty years. [Musnad Ahmad: 20025, Hasan]
Paradise, whose length and width are so vast, and half of it will be people from the Ummah of Muhammad. All these characteristics indicate a very great virtue of this Ummah.
9. More than seventy thousand people from the Ummah of Muhammad will enter Paradise without reckoning:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
’’هٰؤُلَائِ أُمَّتُكَ، وَمَعَ هَؤُلَائِ سَبْعُونَ أَلْفًا يَدْخُلُونَ الجَنَّةَ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ‘‘
“This is your Ummah, and among them are seventy thousand who will enter Paradise without any reckoning.”
[Sahih al-Bukhari: 5752]
In another hadith, it is stated:
’’وَعَدَنِي رَبِّي سُبْحَانَهُ أَنْ يُدْخِلَ الْجَنَّةَ مِنْ أُمَّتِي سَبْعِينَ أَلْفًا، لَا حِسَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ، وَلَا عَذَابَ، مَعَ كُلِّ أَلْفٍ سَبْعُونَ أَلْفًا، وَثَلَاثُ حَثَيَاتٍ مِنْ حَثَيَاتِ رَبِّي عَزَّ وَجَلَّ‘‘
“My Lord, Glorified is He, has promised me that He will admit into Paradise seventy thousand of my Ummah without reckoning or punishment, and with every thousand will be another seventy thousand, and in addition, three handfuls from the handfuls of my Lord, the Mighty and Majestic.”
[Sunan Ibn Majah: 4286, Sahih]
10. The Ummah of Muhammad is the Ummah upon which there is mercy (Ummah Marhummah):
The portion of His mercy that Allah Almighty has specified for this Ummah has not been granted to any other nation.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
’’أُمَّتِي هَذِهِ أُمَّةٌ مَرْحُومَةٌ، لَيْسَ عَلَيْهَا عَذَابٌ فِي الْآخِرَةِ، عَذَابُهَا فِي الدُّنْيَا الْفِتَنُ، وَالزَّلَازِلُ، وَالْقَتْلُ‘‘
“This Ummah of mine is an Ummah upon which there is mercy. It will have no punishment in the Hereafter like other nations. Its punishment is in this world through trials, earthquakes, and killings.”
[Sunan Abi Dawood: 4278, Sahih]
11. The leaders of women, the elderly, and the youth in Paradise will be from the Ummah of Muhammad:
A very great distinction of the Ummah of Muhammad is that the leader of the women in Paradise will be Hazrat Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her), the leaders of the youth will be Hazrat Hasan and Hussain (may Allah be pleased with them), and the leaders of the elderly will be Hazrat Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them).
The Prophet ﷺ said:
’’أَبُو بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرُ سَيِّدَا كُهُولِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ مِنَ الْأَوَّلِينَ وَالْآخِرِينَ، إِلَّا النَّبِيِّينَ وَالْمُرْسَلِينَ‘‘
“Abu Bakr and Umar will be the leaders of the middle-aged people of Paradise, from the first to the last, except for the Prophets and Messengers.”
[Sunan Ibn Majah: 95, Sahih]
The meaning of this hadith is that in worldly terms, for all those who died in old age, these two will be their leaders; otherwise, no one will be old in Paradise. Similarly, the Prophet ﷺ said:
’’أَمَا تَرْضَيْنَ أَنْ تَكُونِي سَيِّدَةَ نِسَائِ أَهْلِ الجَنَّةِ‘‘
“O Fatimah, does it not please you that you will be the leader of the women of Paradise?”
[Sahih al-Bukhari: 3624]
Similarly, the Prophet ﷺ said:
’’الحَسَنُ وَالحُسَيْنُ سَيِّدَا شَبَابِ أَهْلِ الجَنَّةِ‘‘
“Hasan and Husain are the leaders of the youth of Paradise.”
[Sunan al-Tirmidhi: 3768, Ibn Majah: 118, Sahih]
12. The entire earth is a place of prayer (Masjid) for the Ummah of Muhammad, and spoils of war (Ghanimah) are lawful:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
’’أُعْطِيتُ خَمْسًا لَمْ يُعْطَهُنَّ أَحَدٌ قَبْلِي:نُصِرْتُ بِالرُّعْبِ مَسِيرَةَ شَهْرٍ، وَجُعِلَتْ لِي الأَرْضُ مَسْجِدًا وَطَهُورًا، فَأَيُّمَا رَجُلٍ مِنْ أُمَّتِي أَدْرَكَتْهُ الصَّلاَةُ فَلْيُصَلِّ، وَأُحِلَّتْ لِي المَغَانِمُ‘‘
“I have been given five things which were not given to any Prophet before me: The earth has been made for me a place of prayer and a means of purification, so wherever a man from my Ummah is when the time for prayer comes, let him pray, and the spoils of war have been made lawful for me.”
[Sahih al-Bukhari: 335]
13. The Ummah of Muhammad cannot be completely misguided:
It is possible that the number of followers of the Sunnah may be few, but it is by no means possible for the entire Ummah to go astray. The Prophet ﷺ said:
’’إِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَا يَجْمَعُ أُمَّتِي أَوْ قَالَ: أُمَّةَ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّي اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَلٰي ضَلَالَةٍ، وَيَدُ اللّٰهِ مَعَ الجَمَاعَةِ‘‘
“Verily, Allah will not let my Ummah, or he said: the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ, agree upon misguidance, and the hand of Allah is with the Jama’ah (community).”
[Sunan al-Tirmidhi: 2167, Sahih]
14. The amount of deeds is less, but the reward is greater:
A great favor for this Ummah is that Allah rewards them with great recompense for a small deed. For example, the worship of Laylat al-Qadr was made better than the worship of a thousand months (Surah Al-Qadr). Those who fast on the day of Arafah are granted expiation for the sins of two years (Sunan Ibn Majah: 1731).
Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan and then follows it with six fasts of Shawwal is rewarded with the reward of fasting for a lifetime (Sahih Muslim: 1164).
Whoever fasts on the day of Ashura, Allah forgives his sins of the previous year (Muslim: 1162). One prayer in the Haram of Makkah is better than one hundred thousand prayers elsewhere, and one prayer in the Prophet’s Mosque is better than one thousand prayers elsewhere (except for the Haram of Makkah) (Musnad Ahmad: 15271, its chain is Sahih according to the condition of Bukhari).
Five daily prayers were made obligatory on the Ummah of Muhammad, but their reward was made equal to fifty prayers (Sahih Muslim, Bab al-Isra’ bi’l-Rasul – 162).
15. No one can erase the Ummah of Muhammad from the face of the earth:
There are many nations whose names exist only in the pages of history, but no power in the world can completely annihilate the Ummah of Muhammad. All polytheistic and atheistic forces have gathered against Islam and its followers, yet it is not hidden from anyone how rapidly the name of Islam is spreading in the world. (For details, see: Sahih Muslim: Kitab al-Fitan: Hadith number: 2889)
16. The Ummah of Muhammad was granted rows like those of the angels:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
’’فُضِّلْنَا عَلَي النَّاسِ بِثَلَاثٍ: جُعِلَتْ صُفُوفُنَا كَصُفُوفِ الْمَلَائِكَةِ‘‘
“We have been favored over other people in three things: Our rows have been made like the rows of the angels.”
[Sahih Muslim: 522]
Dear readers! Besides the above-mentioned attributes and virtues, there are many other characteristics, but it is not possible to encompass all these qualities here.
Being a member of the Ummah of Muhammad and being the Ummah of the best of Prophets is purely by the grace of Allah:
{وَرَبُّكَ يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَاءُ وَيَخْتَارُ مَا كَانَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ}
“And your Lord creates what He wills and chooses; not for them was the choice.”
[Al-Qasas: 68]
Therefore, we should be grateful to Allah for this great blessing and fulfill the requirement of being the “best of nations,” which is to enjoin good and forbid evil.
May Allah grant us the ability to be grateful and to perform our duties in the best manner. Amen.
Abdul Karim Rawab Ali Al-Sanabili
Al-Khobar: Saudi Arabia
Reference: https://ahlussunnah.net/?p=1943
A detailed fatwa on Bay'ah's literal and terminological meaning, its permissibility in Islam, and critique of pledges to Pirs/Murshids, grounded… Read More
Explore Islamic teachings on women's rewards in Paradise, including spouses, Houris' meaning, and scenarios for unmarried or multi-married women based… Read More
Explore the various types of martyrdom in Islam, including battlefield martyrs and those dying from plagues, diseases, or protecting faith,… Read More
Explore Islamic guidelines on intimacy during a wife's menstruation (Haiz) and post-natal bleeding (Nifas), including prohibitions, permissions before Ghusl, and… Read More
Explore Islamic evidences from Quran, Sunnah, and scholars proving Khidr (peace be upon him) has passed away, refuting claims of… Read More
Clarifying misconceptions, this article explores Islamic rulings on violence towards a disobedient wife. Drawing from Quran verses like Surah An-Nisa… Read More