the Christians. Then you work from the late-afternoon prayer until sunset for two qīrāts each.’ They said, ‘We do more work but receive less pay.’ He asked, ‘Have I deprived you of anything that is rightfully yours?’ They replied, ‘No.’ He said, ‘That is My bounty, which I bestow upon whomever I will.’”1

Ibn Kathīr—may Allah have mercy on him—said: “The relevance of this hadith to the chapter heading is that this nation, despite the brevity of its duration, surpassed the earlier nations despite their long duration. As Allah Most High says: ‘You are the best nation brought forth for mankind.’2 In the Musnad and the Sunan collections, Bahz ibn Hakīm narrated from his father, from his grandfather, that the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: ‘You complete the tally of seventy nations, and you are the best and most honored of them in Allah’s sight.’3 This nation attained that distinction only through the blessing of the magnificent Book—the Quran—which Allah honored above every scripture He revealed, making it their guardian, their abrogator, and their seal. Every previous scripture was sent down to earth all at once, whereas this Quran was revealed in portions in accordance with events, because of the exceptional care accorded to it and to the one upon whom it was revealed. Thus, each occasion of revelation was like the revelation of an entire previous scripture.

“The greatest of the earlier nations were the Jews and Christians. Allah employed the Jews from the time of Moses until the time of Jesus—peace be upon them both—and the Christians from then until He sent Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He then employed Muhammad’s nation until the establishment of the Hour, which is likened to the latter part of the day. He gave the earlier peoples one qīrāt each, but gave this nation two qīrāts each—twice what He gave them. They therefore said, ‘Our Lord, why do we do more work