The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) highlighted the precedence given to this ummah over the nations who came before them, namely the Jews and Christians. That is because of their good response to the commands of Allah and His Messenger. In this hadith, Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he said: The likeness of the Muslims, the Jews and the Christians – that is, with their Prophets – is that of a man who hired some people to do some work for him until nightfall, so they worked until midday, but they did not complete their work, and they said: We have no need of your wages, and we will not ask you for anything. What is meant by these people is the Jews. Then the man hired some other people, and said: Complete the work that they began, and I will give you what I had promised them of wages. So they worked until the time for ‘Asr prayer came, then they said: What we have done is not valid, and we have no need of the wages that you promised us. What is meant by these people is the Christians. Then the man hired some other people, and they worked for the rest of that day, until the sun set. And they received in full the wages of the two earlier groups. What is meant by these people is the Muslim ummah. This is the likeness of the Muslims who accepted the guidance brought by the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and the likeness of the Jews and Christians, who disbelieved and rejected the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). In this hadith, we see that precedence is given to this ummah, and they are granted their reward in full, despite the fact that their effort was less. It also indicates that deeds are judged by the last of them. And it indicates that likenesses may be given for the purpose of teaching and explaining..