The Prophet's Praise of the Ansar

The Anṣār occupy a unique and honored place in the Prophet ﷺ's heart, and in the teachings of Islam. Several hadith preserved in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Muslim make this explicit:

"Lawlā al-Hijrah la-kuntu imraʾan min al-Anṣār", "Were it not for the Hijra, I would have been a man of the Anṣār." The Hijra that made him a Makki is what prevents him from being from Yathrib. But his love for them is such that he chose them.

"And if the Anṣār went in one direction, and all of mankind went in the other, I would follow the direction of the Anṣār."

"Ḥubb al-Anṣār min al-Īmān, Loving the Anṣār is a part of Imān." (Bukhari)

"And hating the Anṣār is a sign of hypocrisy."

"Allāhumma ighfir lil-Anṣār, wa li-abnāʾ al-Anṣār, wa li-abnāʾ abnāʾ al-Anṣār", "O Allah, forgive the Anṣār, and the children of the Anṣār, and the children of the children of the Anṣār." And so on, generation after generation.

These are not political statements. These are spiritual rankings. The Anṣār opened their city, their homes, their lives, and their necks to the Prophet ﷺ and the Muslims when all the great tribes of Arabia refused.

The ranking of the Companions:

The scholars have established that the Muhājirūn generally rank above the Anṣār, as Allah always mentions them first in the Quran. But within the Anṣār, the highest-ranking are those who attended the First Pledge of Aqabah, followed by those at the Second Pledge, followed by those who embraced Islam before the Battle of Badr.

The post-Ḥunayn incident:

After the Conquest of Makkah and the Battle of Ḥunayn, the Prophet ﷺ distributed the spoils generously to the newly-converted leaders of the Quraysh and the tribes of Ṭāʾif and Ḥunayn, those whose hearts needed to be won (muʾallafati qulūbuhum). One tribal leader received an entire valley full of sheep; upon returning to his people, he said: "Embrace Islam, I have met a man who does not fear poverty. He must be a Prophet." The bribe worked. But the Anṣār, who had fought and bled, received only their standard warrior's share.

Murmuring spread quietly among the Anṣār, a very human response. The Prophet ﷺ called a private meeting, exclusively for the Anṣār. No Muhājirūn were present.

He said: "O Anṣār, did I not find you misguided and Allah guided you through me? Did I not find you divided and Allah united you through me? Did I not find you poor and Allah enriched you?" They said yes to all of it. He then said:

"O Anṣār, are you not satisfied that these people go back with sheep and dinar and dirham, while you go back with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to your homes?"

They wept. "We are satisfied, O Messenger of Allah. We are satisfied."

He had kept his promise. He had said at Aqabah: al-dam al-dam wal-hadm al-hadm, my blood is your blood. Even after the Conquest of Makkah, when the house of Khadījah and the home of Abū Ṭālib were before him, he turned his back and returned to Madinah. They went home with sheep; the Anṣār went home with him.