Saying · 5th year of the Hijrah
Soon, a delegation will come to you, and they are the best people from the east.
In the 5th year after the Hijrah, the Prophet ﷺ was giving a sermon when he said, "Soon, a delegation will come to you, and they are the best people from the east." A day or two later, Umar ibn al-Khattab RA was in the marketplace of Madinah when he saw a group of travelers arrive. They were from Abd al-Qays, a tribe from the region of Bahrain whose people were a mix of Christians and pagans. Umar RA rushed to greet them and gave them the good news of what the Prophet ﷺ had said about them.
All the delegates hurried off to meet the Prophet ﷺ except the youngest, who became known as Ashaj Abd al-Qays. He stayed behind to bathe, put on good clothes and perfume himself, and only then went to the Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ said to him, "O Ashaj, you have two characteristics that Allah and His Messenger love." They were forbearance (al-hilm) and calm deliberation (al-anat). Ashaj asked whether he had developed these himself, and the Prophet ﷺ told him that Allah had placed them in him.
The delegates explained that the hostile tribe of Mudar lay between them and Madinah. This meant they could only travel during the Sacred Months, when fighting stopped. They asked to be taught something that would bring them into Paradise and that they could teach their people. The Prophet ﷺ replied, "I command you to have Iman in Allah. And do you know what is Iman in Allah? That you say the shahada, you pray the prayers, you fast Ramadan, and you pay zakat." Iman means faith, and the shahada is the declaration of faith. He did not mention Hajj, because it had not yet been made obligatory.
They also said they lived in a cold climate and asked whether they could drink alcohol. The Prophet ﷺ forbade it, listing their different kinds of drink one by one. The tribe is said to have been the first to build a mosque outside the Hejaz, and the first to hold the Friday prayer outside Madinah.
This is considered perhaps the very first delegation the Prophet ﷺ received. Abd al-Qays is said to be the first tribe outside the Hejaz to accept Islam of its own accord. The hadith about Ashaj's two qualities is famous. The Prophet ﷺ's explanation of faith (Iman) in terms of the pillars of Islam is a key text on how faith and practice relate, echoing the hadith of Jibril AS.
Other events recorded in 5 AH. Their order within the year is not established; use the storyline above for the sequence.
Soon, a delegation will come to you, and they are the best people from the east.
I give you the good news! For the Prophet ﷺ said you are the best people from the east!
Called out on seeing the Abd al-Qays delegation arrive in the marketplace, recognizing them from the Prophet ﷺ's prophecy.
O Ashaj, you have two characteristics that Allah and His Messenger love.
Addressed to Ashaj Abd al-Qays, who had lingered behind the rest of the Abd al-Qays delegation to bathe, dress well, and perfume himself before coming to meet the Prophet ﷺ.
What is that?
Al-hilm (forbearance: you can control your temper) and al-anat (staidness: you do not act hastily).
These two characteristics: have I developed them, or did Allah implant them in me?
No, Allah implanted them in you.
All praise be to Allah who has implanted in me characteristics that He loves.
I command you to have Iman in Allah. And do you know what is Iman in Allah? That you say the shahada, you pray the prayers, you fast Ramadan, and you pay zakat.
Answering the Abd al-Qays delegation's request to be taught something that would lead them to Jannah, so they could teach it to their people. Hajj was not yet mentioned, as it had not been legislated in the 5th year of the Hijrah.