and deepest in knowledge, and least given to affectation. They were people whom Allah chose to accompany His Prophet and establish His religion. So recognize their due rights and hold fast to their guidance, for they followed the straight path.”

There are also the statements of Jundub and others—many such statements are recorded elsewhere. Indeed, this contradicts explicit Quranic texts, such as His words:

“And the first forerunners,” and the rest of the verse.

And His words:

“Those of you who spent and fought before the conquest are not equal,” and the rest of the verse.

And His words:

“And those who came after them,” and the rest of the verse, as well as other passages.

However, this issue is not the purpose of the present discussion. Rather, its purpose is to discuss the seal of the saints. A similar notion is held by a group including Ibn Hūd, Ibn Sab‘īn, al-Niffarī, and al-Tilimsānī: that what comes later must be superior to what came earlier. They believe that the world progresses from its beginning toward its culmination, like a child growing older or a plant growing stronger after its initial weakness. On this basis, they maintain that the Messiah is superior to Moses. They take this so far as to posit a human being coming after Muhammad who is more perfect than he is, as the Ismā‘īlīs, Qarmatians, and Bātinīs maintain.

There is no evidence whatsoever for this claim—that whoever comes later within a given kind is the best of that kind. It neither holds universally nor is its converse valid. Rather, it is established through the words of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that Abraham, Allah’s intimate friend, “is the best of creation”—meaning after the Prophet. Likewise, al-Rabī‘ ibn Khuthaym said:

“I do not rank anyone above our Prophet