The lineage of Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless and grant him peace, was the noblest as it was chosen specially by Almighty Allah. The Prophet himself described this nobility to many of his companions at different occasions. Some of those narrations are as under.
Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless and grant him peace, said, “I was sent from the best of each consecutive generations of the children of Adam until I appeared in the generation in which I am from.”
Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, reported the Prophet, may Allah bless and grant him peace, as saying, “Allah created his generation from the best of their generations; He placed me among the best of them. Then he selected tribes and placed me among the best of them. Thereafter, He selected families and placed me among the best of them. I am the best of them in person and the best of them in family.”
Waila, son of Asqas, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless and grant him peace, while describing his lineage said, “Allah chose Ismael from the children of Adam, and from the children of Ismael He chose the children of Kinana, (then) chose the Quraish and (thereafter) the children of Hashim.”
Abdullah, son of Umar, may Allah be pleased with both of them, reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless and grant him peace, said, “Allah chose from His creations the children of Adam, then the Arab then from the Arabs He chose the Quraish and from them He chose children of Hashim and from the children of Hashim He chose me. And I am the best of the best. Whosoever loves the Arabs loves them because he loves me. Whosoever hates Arabs hates them because he hates me.”
In another tradition, Abdullah, son of Umar, may Allah be pleased with both of them, also reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless and grant him peace, said that Allah brought him down to earth in the loins of Adam, then placed him in the loins of Noah and thereafter cast him into the loin of Abraham. Allah, thereafter, moved him from one noble loin to another until to his parents. The Prophet emphasised further that none of his ancestors ever joined together in fornications.