The Romans Will Be the Most Numerous of People
Partly
In brief
The Prophet ﷺ said the Hour will come while the Romans (al-Rum) are the most numerous of people.
Mustawrid al-Qurashi narrated this, and it reached Amr ibn al-As, who knew the Romans well. He said: if you say that, it is because they have four qualities. They are the most patient in hardship, the quickest to recover after a disaster, the soonest to return after retreating, and the best to the poor, the orphan and the weak. And a fifth, fine and good: they are the most likely to stop their kings from oppressing them. The narration is in Sahih Muslim.
Al-Nawawi explains 'the Romans' as the Byzantines and the wider Christian peoples of the West. What stands out is that a Companion confirmed the report and listed their worldly virtues. The sign is about their numbers and staying power near the end, stated as a fact, not as praise for their religion or a verdict on any nation today.
Take the lesson Amr ibn al-As drew: forbearance in trial, care for the weak, and justice restraining rulers are praised wherever found, so cultivate them in yourself.
Where it sits in the sequence
The narrations do not put these in order, and many of them overlap. Sahih al-Bukhari 7121 lists several together.
Strongest narrations
Read all in the archive →Tags are automatic and unreviewed.
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْمَلِكِ بْنُ شُعَيْبِ بْنِ اللَّيْثِ، حَدَّثَنِي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ وَهْبٍ، أَخْبَرَنِي اللَّيْثُ، بْنُ سَعْدٍ حَدَّثَنِي مُوسَى بْنُ عُلَىٍّ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، قَالَ قَالَ الْمُسْتَوْرِدُ الْقُرَشِيُّ عِنْدَ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ " تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ وَالرُّومُ أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ " . فَقَالَ لَهُ عَمْرٌو أَبْصِرْ مَا تَقُولُ . قَالَ أَقُولُ مَا سَمِعْتُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ لَئِنْ قُلْتَ ذَلِكَ إِنَّ فِيهِمْ لَخِصَالاً أَرْبَعًا إِنَّهُمْ لأَحْلَمُ النَّاسِ عِنْدَ فِتْنَةٍ وَأَسْرَعُهُمْ إِفَاقَةً بَعْدَ مُصِيبَةٍ وَأَوْشَكُهُمْ كَرَّةً بَعْدَ فَرَّةٍ وَخَيْرُهُمْ لِمِسْكِينٍ وَيَتِيمٍ وَضَعِيفٍ وَخَامِسَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ جَمِيلَةٌ وَأَمْنَعُهُمْ مِنْ ظُلْمِ الْمُلُوكِ .
Mustaurid al-Qurashi reported:I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: The Last Hour would come (when) the Romans would form a majority amongst people. 'Amr said to him (Mustaurid Qurashi): See what you are saying? He said: I say what I heard from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). Thereupon he said: If you say that, it is a fact for they have four qualities. They have the patience to undergo a trial and immediately restore themselves to sanity after trouble and attack again after flight. They (have the quality) of being good to the destitute and the orphans, to the weak and, fifthly, the good quality in them is that they put resistance against the oppression of kings
حَدَّثَنِي حَرْمَلَةُ بْنُ يَحْيَى التُّجِيبِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ وَهْبٍ، حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو شُرَيْحٍ، أَنَّ عَبْدَ الْكَرِيمِ بْنَ الْحَارِثِ، حَدَّثَهُ أَنَّ الْمُسْتَوْرِدَ الْقُرَشِيَّ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ " تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ وَالرُّومُ أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ " . قَالَ فَبَلَغَ ذَلِكَ عَمْرَو بْنَ الْعَاصِ فَقَالَ مَا هَذِهِ الأَحَادِيثُ الَّتِي تُذْكَرُ عَنْكَ أَنَّكَ تَقُولُهَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ لَهُ الْمُسْتَوْرِدُ قُلْتُ الَّذِي سَمِعْتُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ فَقَالَ عَمْرٌو لَئِنْ قُلْتَ ذَلِكَ إِنَّهُمْ لأَحْلَمُ النَّاسِ عِنْدَ فِتْنَةٍ وَأَجْبَرُ النَّاسِ عِنْدَ مُصِيبَةٍ وَخَيْرُ النَّاسِ لِمَسَاكِينِهِمْ وَضُعَفَائِهِمْ .
Mustaurid Qurashi reported:I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: The Last Hour would come when the Romans would form a majority amongst people. This reached 'Amr b. al-'As and he said: What are these ahadith which are being transmitted from you and which you claim to have heard from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)? Mustaurid said to him: I stated only that which I heard from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). Thereupon 'Amr said: If you state this (it is true), for they have the power of tolerance amongst people at the time of turmoil and restore themselves to sanity after trouble, and are good amongst people so far as the destitute and the weak are concerned
Weak and ungraded reports on this sign
2
Shown for study, not as established. Includes Kitab al-Fitan of Nu'aym ibn Hammad, which is ungraded and weak overall.
Kitab al-Fitan of Nu'aym ibn Hammad: ungraded, and weak overall. Never established on its own.
تقوم الساعة والروم أكثر الناس ، وكان عمرو بن العاص أراد أن ينتهره، ثم قال عمرو: لئن قلت ذاك إنهم لأجبر الناس عند مصيبة، وأسرعه إفاقة بعد هزيمة، وخيره لكبير وضعيف، وأمنعه من ظلم الملوك
The Hour will come and the Romans will be the majority of people, and Amr ibn al-Aas wanted to rebuke him, then Amr said: If you say so, they will be the most powerful people in times of calamity, the quickest to recover after defeat, the best for the old and weak, and the best for them from the oppression of kings.
Kitab al-Fitan of Nu'aym ibn Hammad: ungraded, and weak overall. Never established on its own.
تقوم الساعة والروم أكثر الناس ، فبلغ ذلك عمرو بن العاص فقال: ما هذه الأحاديث التي تذكر عنك، أنك تقولها عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم؟ فقال له المستورد: قلت الذي سمعت من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، قال عمرو: لئن قلت ذلك، إنهم لأحلم الناس عند فتنة، وأجبر الناس عند مصيبة، وخير الناس لمساكينهم وضعفائهم
The Hour will come and the Romans will be the majority of people. This was reported to Amr bin Al-Aas and he said: What are these hadiths that are mentioned about you, that you say about the Prophet ﷺ? The importer said to him: I said what I heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Amr said: If you say that, they are the most forgiving of people when there is turmoil, the most forceful of people when disaster strikes, and the best of people for their poor and weak.
What scholars have said
Scholars cite it in part, or differ
Imam Yahya An-Nawawid. 676 AH (631-676 AH)
Explains that 'the Romans' (al-Rum) are the Byzantine and wider western Christian peoples, and that the Companion Amr ibn al-As confirmed the report, naming their qualities: the most forbearing in trial, the quickest to recover after calamity, the best to the poor, orphan and weak, and the most restraining of their rulers' oppression. The sign is their sheer numbers near the end, not a praise of their creed.
Sharh Sahih Muslim, on Hadith 2898
Meaning and context
The Prophet ﷺ foretold that the Hour would come while the Romans are the most numerous of people. The Companion Amr ibn al-As, who knew them, confirmed it and named their worldly virtues; the sign is their numbers, not praise of their creed.
Narrations behind this panel: Sahih Muslim 2898a · Sahih Muslim 2898b
What the commentators said it means
- 'The Romans' are the Byzantine and wider western Christian peoples: al-Nawawi.
- Amr ibn al-As affirmed four qualities - forbearance in trial, swift recovery, care for the weak, and restraining their rulers' oppression - as reasons for their endurance.
Read with care
- Stated as fact about numbers near the end, not as praise of a religion or a verdict on any present-day nation.
Draft: figures and wording await a researcher's check and the scholar board.