Caution: Translations of Quran and Ḥadīth may lead to possible misapplications and misinterpretations. This site is intended for students of sacred knowledge that are proficient in comprehending classical Arabic and have a strong foundation in Islamic sciences. Also note that religious injunctions rely on several aspects beyond what one may glean through reading individual aḥādīth.
Qurʾān Bukhārī Muslim Nasāʾī Abū Dāwūd Tirmidhī Ibn Mājah Mālik Aḥmad Dārimī Ḥākim Ibn Ḥibbān Ṭabarānī Nasāʾī's Kubrá Bayhaqī al-Luʾluʾ wa-al-Marjān Ibn Rajab's Fifty Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn Aḥmad's Zuhd Suyūṭī

ذِكْرُ الْبَيَانِ بِأَنَّ عَبْدَ الْقَيْسِ مِنْ خَيْرِ أَهْلِ الْمَشْرِقِ

ibnhibban:7294 – Aḥmad b. Yaḥyá b. Zuhayr Bitustar > Wahbb. Yaḥyá b. Zimām > Muḥammad b. Sawāʾ > Shubayl b. ʿAzrah > Abū Jamrah > Ibn ʿAbbās

[Machine] The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "The best of the people of the east is Abd al-Qays. The people entered Islam against their will and then embraced it willingly."  

ابن حبّان:٧٢٩٤ – أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى بْنِ زُهَيْرٍ بِتُسْتَرٍ حَدَّثَنَا وَهْبُ بْنُ يَحْيَى بْنِ زِمَامٍ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سَوَاءٍ حَدَّثَنَا شُبَيْلُ بْنُ عَزْرَةَ عَنْ أَبِي جَمْرَةَ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ «خَيْرُ أَهْلِ الْمَشْرِقِ عَبْدُ الْقَيْسِ أَسْلَمَ النَّاسُ كَرْهًا وَأَسْلَمُوا طَائِعِينَ»  

See similar narrations below:

Collected by Ṭabarānī, Suyūṭī
tabarani:12970 – Muḥammad b. Ṣāliḥ b. al-Walīd al-Narsī > Wahbb. Yaḥyá b. Zimām al-ʿAllāf > Muḥammad b. Sawāʾ > Shubayl b. ʿAzrah > Abū Jamrah > Ibn ʿAbbās

[Machine] The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "The best of the people of the east is 'Abd al-Qays."  

الطبراني:١٢٩٧٠ – حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ صَالِحِ بْنِ الْوَلِيدِ النَّرْسِيُّ ثنا وَهْبُ بْنُ يَحْيَى بْنِ زِمَامٍ الْعَلَّافُ ثنا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سَوَاءٍ ثنا شُبَيْلُ بْنُ عَزْرَةَ عَنْ أَبِي جَمْرَةَ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ «خَيْرُ أَهْلِ الْمَشْرِقِ عَبْدُ الْقَيْسِ»