It is also recorded in the Sahīh that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:
“A time will surely come upon the people [during which] (1) a company of them will go forth on campaign. It will be asked, ‘Is there anyone among you who accompanied the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace?’ The answer will be, ‘Yes,’ and victory will be granted to them.”
In another wording (2):
“Is there anyone among you who saw the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace?’ They will answer, ‘Yes,’ and victory will be granted to them. Then a time will come upon the people [during which] (3) a company of them will go forth on campaign. It will be asked, ‘Is there anyone among you who accompanied someone who had accompanied the Companions of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace?’ (4) They will answer, ‘Yes,’ and victory will be granted to them.”
This is the wording of some routes of transmission. All the routes agree in mentioning the three generations, while the fourth generation is mentioned in some of them (5).
The Prophet’s praise—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—of the three generations is established in several authentic hadiths narrated by Ibn Masʿūd and ʿImrān ibn Husayn, in which he said:
(1) *Fīhi* (“during which”) is omitted from N.
(2) “In another wording” is omitted from H.
(3) *Fīhi* (“during which”) is omitted from N and M.
(4) R reads: “someone who accompanied someone who accompanied the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.” B reads: “someone who saw someone who saw someone who saw the Companions of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.” H reads: “someone who accompanied someone who accompanied someone who accompanied someone who had accompanied them; someone who saw someone who saw someone who saw the Companions of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.” After the wording I have retained in the text, N and M add: “Then a time will come upon the people during which a company of them will go forth on campaign. It will be asked, ‘Is there anyone among you who saw someone who saw someone who saw the Companions of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace?’”
(5) The hadith, with differences in wording, is narrated from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī—may Allah be pleased with him—in al-Bukhārī, 4/37 (Book of Jihad, chapter: Seeking Assistance from the Weak and the Righteous); 4/197 (Book of Virtues, chapter: The Signs of Prophethood in Islam); 5/2 (Book of the Merits of the Companions of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—first chapter); Muslim, 4/1962 (Book of the Merits of the Companions, chapter: The Merit of the Companions and Then Those Who Follow Them); and *al-Musnad*, al-Halabī ed., 3/7.