“The people of Yemen are on the verge of ascending upon you as if they are clouds. They are the best (people) on Earth…”
“The people of Yemen are on the verge of ascending upon you as if they are clouds. They are the best (people) on Earth…”
The land and people of Yemen have a rich history and important status in Islam. The war which has dragged the country into ruin and left behind immense poverty is even more heartbreaking when seen through the context of the land’s high standing in Islamic texts.
We have collected our favourite five hadith here.
1) The Prophet is Yemeni
A hadith narrated in Ahmad by ‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah says:
Whilst the Messenger of Allah was showing some horses and with him was Uayinah ibn Hsn ibn Hudhaifah ibn Badr al-Fazari and he said to Uyainah, “I am more discerning of horses than you.” Uyainah then said, ‘I am more discerning of men than you.’ He said, “So how is that?” He said, ‘The best of men are the ones who place their swords upon their shoulders and they lay their spears upon the woven saddles of their horses, they are from the people of Najd.’
The Prophet replied:
You are mistaken. The best of men are the men of Yemen, belief is Yemeni, and I am Yemeni.
He went on to say, “The most numerous of tribes in Paradise on the Day of Resurrection are the Madhhij. The Hadramaut are better than Banu al-Harith and I care not if both the two (Harith) tribes perish to the last one! There is no power nor kingdom except that of Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He. Allah curses the four kings: Jamada, Mishrakha, Mikhwasa, and Abda‘ah as well as their sister al-Amarradah.”’
2) The best people
Another hadith in Ahmad narrated by Jubair ibn Mut‘im says, ‘We were with the Messenger of Allah on a road between Makkah and MadÏnah and he said:
The people of Yemen are on the verge of ascending upon you as if they are clouds. They are the best (people) on Earth.
Then a man from the Ansar (the Helpers from Madinah) said, ‘Aren’t we O Messenger of Allah?’ Then he was silent. He said, ‘Aren’t we O Messenger of Allah?’ Then he was silent. He said, ‘Aren’t we O Messenger of Allah?’ Then he said on the third time in a low sound, “Except you.”’
3) The best pilgrims
A beautiful hadith found in At-Tabarani is narrated by Hayyan ibn Bastam al-Hudhali, who says,
‘We were with ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar [may Allah be pleased with both of them] then they mentioned the pilgrims of Yemen and what they do in it (the Hajj). Then some people insulted them. Ibn ‘Umar [may Allah be pleased with both of them] then said, ‘Do not insult the people of Yemen! For indeed I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless and grant peace to him and his family say:
The most beautiful pilgrims are the people of Yemen.
Another hadith, found in Bukhari, speaks of a verse that was sent down for Yemeni pilgrims:
On the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, who said, ‘The people of Yemen used to come for Hajj and they didn’t used to bring enough provisions with them, and they used to say, ‘We depend on Allah.’ Then when they arrived in Makkah, they used to beg the people, so Allah, Exalted be He revealed, “And take a provision (with you for the journey), but indeed the best provision is the fear of Allah.”’ (Al-Qur’an, 2:197).
4) Sensitive hearts
A hadith from Anas bin Malik and found in Ahmad says, ‘The Messenger of Allah said, “Some people will come to you tomorrow who are more sensitive (in their) hearts towards Islam than you.” He said, ‘Then the ‘Ash‘aris (a Yemeni tribe) came and Abu Musa al-‘Ash‘ari was amongst them. Then when they were approaching Madinah they began singing poetry:
Tomorrow we meet the beloved ones, Muhammad and his group!
Then when they arrived, they began to shake hands with the people, and they were the first to initiate handshaking.’
5) The Prophet’s dua
A hadith found in At-Tabarani, on the authority of Anas, says that the Prophet looked towards ‘Iraq, Sham, and Yemen and said:
O Allah bring their hearts over to Your obedience and relieve them of their burdens.
A similar hadith, found in Al-Tirmidhi and narrated by Zaid ibn Thabit, says that the Prophet looked towards Yemen and said, “O Allah bring their hearts closer and bless us in our Sa‘ and our Mudd (i.e. in every measure).
Another hadith, found in Bukhari, says that Jabir heard the Prophet on the pulpit (Minbar) look towards Yemen and say:
O Allah, bring their hearts [over to Your obedience]!
And he looked towards ‘Iraq and said something like that and he looked towards every horizon and said something like that and said, “O Allah, provide for us out of the legacy of the Earth and bless us in our Mudd (a dry measure) and our Sa‘ (cubic measure).”
