36/24. Chapter:
Sunan Ibn Majah 4038 — When the Best Are Taken
Hard times
Hadith About End Times: The Best Taken and Worst Left
Sunan Ibn Majah : 4038
Sunan Ibn MajahHadith Number 4038
حَدَّثَنَا عُثْمَانُ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا طَلْحَةُ بْنُ يَحْيَى، عَنْ يُونُسَ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي حُمَيْدٍ، - يَعْنِي مَوْلَى مُسَافِعٍ - عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " لَتُنْتَقَوُنَّ كَمَا يُنْتَقَى التَّمْرُ مِنْ أَغْفَالِهِ فَلْيَذْهَبَنَّ خِيَارُكُمْ وَلَيَبْقَيَنَّ شِرَارُكُمْ فَمُوتُوا إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتُمْ " .
Abu Hurairah Narrated from:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “You will be picked over just as (good) dates are selected (separated) from its bad ones. So the best of you will be taken and the worst of you will be left, so die if you can.”
Reference : Sunan Ibn Majah 4038In-book reference : Book 36, Hadith 113English translation : Vol. 5, Book 36, Hadith 4038
Summary of Sunan Ibn Majah Hadith 4038
This hadith about the end times uses a strong image. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said that people will be picked over just as good dates are selected and separated from bad ones. Then he said the best of people will be taken and the worst will remain. The final words, “so die if you can,” should be read carefully as part of this difficult warning, not as a simple instruction to harm oneself. The main point in the text is the decline that happens when the best people are removed and the worst are left behind. For readers searching for hadith about the best people being taken, this narration reminds us that the quality of people around a community matters deeply.
What we learn from this hadith
- The hadith compares people being sorted to dates being selected.
- It says the best of people will be taken away.
- It warns that the worst of people will remain after that selection.
- The narration points to a serious decline in people’s condition.
