Who are the Beloved?

"Some people will come on the Day of Judgement and their Imaan will be outstanding, it's light will shine from their chests and from their right hands.

So it will be said to them,

'Glad tidings for you today, Assalamu 'alaikum and Goodness for you, Enter into it (Jannah) forever!'

So the Angels and the Prophets will be jealous of the Love of Allah for them."
So the Sahabah asked, "Who are they, Ya Rasoolullah?"

He [sallahu 'alayhi wasalam] replied,

"They are not from us and they are not from you. You are my companions but they are my beloved. They will come after you and will find the Book (the Qur'an) made redundant by the people, and a Sunnah which has been killed by them. So they will grab hold of the Book and the Sunnah and revive them.

So they read them and teach them (the Qur'an and the Sunnah) to the people and they will experience in that path a punishment more severe and more ugly than what you (O Sahabah) have experienced.

Indeed the Imaan of one of them is equivalent to the Imaan of forty of you.

The Shaheed of one of them is equivalent to forty of your Shuhadaa'. Because you found a helper towards the truth (the Prophet) and they will find no helper towards the truth.

So they will be surrounded by tyrant rulers in every place, and they will be in the surroundings of Bait-ul-Maqdis (Al-Quds, Masjid al-Aqsa). The Nussrah (Help and Victory) of Allah will come to them, and they will have the honour of it on their hands."

Then he [sallahu 'alayhi wasalam] said,

"O Allah, give them the Nussrah and make them my close friends in Jannah."

Musnad al-Imaam Ahmad, chain no. 77, Hadeeth no. 17561.