Arabic (Original)
حَدَّثَنَا عَفَّانُ حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ عَنِ الْجُرَيْرِيِّ عَنْ أَبِي نَضْرَةَ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَوَلَةَ قَالَ كُنْتُ أَسِيرُ مَعَ بُرَيْدَةَ الْأَسْلَمِيِّ فَقَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ خَيْرُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ الْقَرْنُ الَّذِينَ بُعِثْتُ أَنَا فِيهِمْ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ ثُمَّ يَكُونُ قَوْمٌ تَسْبِقُ شَهَادَتُهُمْ أَيْمَانَهُمْ وَأَيْمَانُهُمْ شَهَادَتَهُمْ وَقَالَ عَفَّانُ مَرَّةً الْقَرْنُ الَّذِينَ بُعِثْتُ فِيهِمْ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ.
English Translation
Affan told us: Hammad ibn Salamah told us, from al-Jurayri, from Abu Nadrah, from Abdullah ibn Mawlah, who said: I was traveling with Buraydah al-Aslami and he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say: The best of this nation is the generation among whom I was sent, then those who follow them, then those who follow them, then those who follow them; then there will come a people whose testimony precedes their oath, and whose oath precedes their testimony. Affan once said: the generation among whom I was sent, then those who follow them, then those who follow them, then those who follow them, then those who follow them.