The virtue of the Ansar (may Allah be pleased with them)

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Rifa'ah bin Rafi' (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said (supplicating for the Ansar): 'Allahumma ighfir lil-Ansar, wa li-dharariyyi al-Ansar, wa dharariyyi dharariyyihim wa mawalihim wa jiranihim' (O Allah, forgive the Ansar, and the offspring of the Ansar, and the offspring of their offspring (that is, their descendants generation after generation), and those attached to them, that is, their freed slaves, and also forgive and pardon their neighbours).
Imam Abu Bakr bin Abi Shaybah narrated it; the memory of Hisham bin Harun al-Ansari in its chain has been criticised; however, hadith about the supplication for forgiveness for the Ansar are narrated in the two Sahihs through other chains, which support this text.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "We stayed in Madinah for two years before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to us in Madinah; (during this time) we kept the mosques populated and established prayer."
In the chain of this report, Muhammad bin Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Layla is da'if (weak) because of the weakness of his memory.

It is narrated from Qudamah bin Ibrahim that he said: I saw al-Hajjaj punishing Abbas bin Sahl during the caliphate of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both). Then Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) came; he was a very elderly Companion with two braids of hair, and he was wearing two garments consisting of a waist-wrap and a cloak. He came and stood between the two rows of guards and said: "O Hajjaj, do you not observe the instruction of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) concerning us?" Al-Hajjaj asked: "What did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) instruct concerning you?" He replied: "(He (peace and blessings be upon him) said) that the good-doers of the Ansar should be treated well and their wrongdoers should be pardoned." The narrator says: On hearing this, al-Hajjaj released him.
Imam Ibn Hibban recorded it in his Sahih through Imam Abu Ya'la.

It is narrated from some of the Muhajirun Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) that they said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), we have never seen anyone (so self-sacrificing) like the people (that is, the Ansar) with whom we have stayed; they made us partners in their wealth and property and (taking the labour upon themselves) sufficed us in our needs of livelihood and burdens, so much so that we have come to fear that they may carry off the entire reward." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is not so; as long as you keep praying to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, for them and keep mentioning them with goodness and praise (for their kindness), they will not take away all the reward alone."
Imam Abu Ya'la narrated this hadith in his Musnad; although its chain contains the link of al-Hasan al-Basri from some of the Muhajirun, this report is transmitted with an authentic chain from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) in other reliable sources such as Sunan al-Tirmidhi and Sunan Abi Dawud, in which the virtue of praying for and thanking the one who does a kindness is described.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) (on seeing the girls of Banu al-Najjar) made this supplication: 'Allahumma barik fihinna' (O Allah, send down blessings upon them), by which he (peace and blessings be upon him) meant the girls of the tribe of Banu al-Najjar.
Takhrij and grading: The chain of this hadith is sahih (authentic); Ishaq bin Rahwayh narrated it in his Musnad (4141), and Imam al-Bukhari also recorded it in al-Adab al-Mufrad (1222).

Abu Bakr bin Abdullah bin Qays narrates from his father (Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him)) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to visit and meet the Ansar frequently (to comfort them and out of goodwill), whether the visit was particular and individual or general and collective. His (peace and blessings be upon him) blessed practice was that "when he (peace and blessings be upon him) paid a particular visit to someone, he would go to that person's house, and when he intended to meet everyone generally, he would come to the mosque (of their neighbourhood)."
Imam Abu Bakr bin Abi Shaybah narrated this hadith; its chain contains an unnamed Ansari narrator; however, the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) visiting the homes of the Ansar and honouring them is established by other sahih reports.

Ibn Shafi' the physician narrates from Sayyiduna Usayd bin Hudayr (may Allah be pleased with him): He called me and I treated his sciatica ('irq al-nasa), and on that occasion he narrated two hadith to me. He said: Some people from two households of my tribe, Banu Zafar and Banu Mu'awiyah, came to me and said: Intercede with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on our behalf. So I spoke to him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Very well, I will allot a share to each of their households, and if Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, grants us wealth again, we will give them more." Usayd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I said: 'Jazakallahu khayran ya Rasulallah' (O Messenger of Allah, may Allah reward you with good). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Wa antum fa-jazakumullahu khayran' (And may Allah reward you all with good too), "for as far as I know, you are people of great chastity and patience." Usayd (may Allah be pleased with him) also said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "After me you will soon see others being given preference over you (your rights denied despite your entitlement, and favouritism)."
Then, when the time of Sayyiduna Umar al-Faruq (may Allah be pleased with him) came, he distributed Yemeni suits of clothing among the people. He sent me one of these suits, which I considered of little value or too small, so I gave it to my son. Once, while I was praying, a young man of Quraysh passed by me wearing that same garment and trailing it on the ground. Seeing him, I remembered the words of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and I said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke the truth." Someone went and told Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) about this, so he came to me while I was praying and said: "O Usayd, finish your prayer." When I had finished, he said: "That garment was one I had sent to so-and-so, who is a Companion of Badr, Uhud and the pledge of Aqabah; this young man bought that garment from him and wore it. So did you suppose that the prophecy would be fulfilled in my time?" I said: "O Commander of the Believers, by Allah, my thought was indeed that it would not happen in your time."