سنن أبي داود

Hadith 585

Book 2: Prayer (Kitab Al-Salat)

كِتَاب الصَّلَاةِ

Chapter 61

Chapter: Who Has More Right To Be Imam.

باب مَنْ أَحَقُّ بِالإِمَامَةِ

English narration

Narrated by سلمة بن قيس الجرمي

Amr bin Salamah said ; we lived at a place where the people would pass by us when they came to the prophet ﷺ. When they returned they would again pass by us. And they used to inform us that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said so –and-so. I was a boy with a good memory. From the ( process) I memorized a large portion of the Quran. Then my father went to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ along with a group of his clan. He (the Prophet) taught them prayer. And he said: The one of you who knows most of the Quran should act as your imam. I knew the Quran better than most of them because I had memorized it. They, therefore, put me in front of them, and I would lead them in prayer. I wore a small yellow mantle which, when I prostrated myself, went up on me, and a woman of the clan said: Cover the back side of your leader from us. So they bought an ‘Ammani shirt for me, and I have never been so pleased about anything after embracing Islam as I was about that (shirt). I used to lead them in prayer and I was only seven or eight year old.

النص العربي

حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ ، حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادٌ ، أَخْبَرَنَا أَيُّوبُ ، عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ سَلَمَةَ ، قَالَ : كُنَّا بِحَاضِرٍ يَمُرُّ بِنَا النَّاسُ إِذَا أَتَوْا النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، فَكَانُوا إِذَا رَجَعُوا مَرُّوا بِنَا فَأَخْبَرُونَا أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ : كَذَا وَكَذَا ، وَكُنْتُ غُلَامًا حَافِظًا فَحَفِظْتُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ قُرْآنًا كَثِيرًا ، فَانْطَلَقَ أَبِي وَافِدًا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي نَفَرٍ مِنْ قَوْمِهِ فَعَلَّمَهُمُ الصَّلَاةَ ، فَقَالَ : " يَؤُمُّكُمْ أَقْرَؤُكُمْ " ، وَكُنْتُ أَقْرَأَهُمْ لِمَا كُنْتُ أَحْفَظُ ، فَقَدَّمُونِي فَكُنْتُ أَؤُمُّهُمْ وَعَلَيَّ بُرْدَةٌ لِي صَغِيرَةٌ صَفْرَاءُ فَكُنْتُ إِذَا سَجَدْتُ تَكَشَّفَتْ عَنِّي ، فَقَالَتِ امْرَأَةٌ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ : وَارُوا عَنَّا عَوْرَةَ قَارِئِكُمْ ، فَاشْتَرَوْا لِي قَمِيصًا عُمَانِيًّا فَمَا فَرِحْتُ بِشَيْءٍ بَعْدَ الْإِسْلَامِ فَرَحِي بِهِ ، فَكُنْتُ أَؤُمُّهُمْ وَأَنَا ابْنُ سَبْعِ سِنِينَ أَوْ ثَمَانِ سِنِينَ .

Reference: Sunan Abi Dawud 585In-book: Book 2, Hadith 585

The isnād

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