روي أنه قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: الملك في قريش، والقضاء في الأنصار، والأذان في الحبشة والأمانة في الأزد يعني اليمن.

It is narrated that the Prophet (sws) said: “The [quality of] rule is in the Quraysh; the [quality of] legal judgment is in the Ansār;1 the [quality of] making call to the prayers is in the people of Habshah,2 and the [quality of] fulfilling trusts is in the people of Yemen.”3

Notes on the Text of the Narrative

This narrative, with some variations, has been reported in Tirmidhī’s No. 3936, Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s Nos. 8746 and 17690, ‘Abd al-Razzāq’s No. 32395, Musnad Al-Shamiyyīn’s No. 1626 and Al-Mu‘jam al-kabīr’s No. 298.

In Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s No. 17690, the sentence الملك في قريش (the [quality of] rule is in Quraysh) has been reported synonymously as الخلافة في قريش (the [quality of] rule is in Quraysh).

In Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s No. 17690, the sentence القضاء في الأنصار (the [quality of] legal judgment is in Ansār) has been reported as الحكم في الأنصار (the [quality of] legal decisions is in Ansār).

In Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s No. 17690, the sentence الأذان في الحبشة (the [quality of] making call to prayers is in the people of Habshah) has been reported as الدعوة في الحبشة (the [quality of] calling is in the people of Habshah).

In ‘Abd al-Razzāq’s No. 32395, the sentence الأمانة في اليمن (the [quality of] fulfilling trusts is in the people of Yemen) has alternatively been reported as السرعة في اليمن (the [quality of] swiftness is in the people of Yemen).

In Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s No. 17690, there is an addition of والهجرة في المسلمين والمهاجرين بعد (And hijrah will remain in the Muslims and the Muhājirs after this) at the end; while in Al-Mu‘jam al-kabīr’s No. 298, there is an addition of والجهاد والهجرة في المسلمين والمهاجرين بعد (and Jihad and Hijrah will remain in the Muslims and the Muhājirs after this) at the end of the narrative.

(This write-up is prepared by the Hadīth Cell of Javed Ahmad Ghamidi)

1. Lit: Helpers. The locals of Maadīnah were given the title of Ansār.

2. i.e. Abyssinia.

3. In this narrative, the Prophet (sws) is ascribed to have mentioned some of the major qualities of some of the tribes and nations. These qualities generally are a natural result of the socio-political and moral background and the circumstances of these tribes and nations. The qualities that are valued and promoted at a collective level become aspirations for individuals living in that collectivity and, as a result, these qualities become more common in the individuals of that collectivity.