Malik: The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “ The people...

Malik: The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “ The people are to be led in salat by the best reciter of the Qur’an among them .”[^4] Al-Arnaut submits: صحيح لغيره It is sahih li ghayrihi ^5 The Sahabah too put this into practice. Imam al-Bukhari (d.

256 H) documents such an instance: حدثنا إبراهيم بن المنذر قال حدثنا أنس بن عياض عن عبيد الله عن نافع عن ابن عمر قال : لما قدم المهاجرون الأولون العصبة موضع بقباء قبل مقدم رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم كان يؤمهم سالم مولى أبي حذيفة وكان أكثرهم قرآنا Ibrahim b. al-Mundhir – Anas b.

‘Iyaḍ – ‘Ubayd Allah – Nafi’ – Ibn ‘Umar: When the earliest Muhajirun came to al-‘Usbah, a place in Quba, before the arrival of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah, used to lead them in salat , and he was the most knowledgeable of the Qur’an among them .[^6] Al-Hafiz (d.

852 H) comments about this hadith : قوله) وكان أكثر هم قرآنا (إشارة إلى سبب تقديمهم له مع كونهم أشرف منه وفي رواية للطبراني لأنه كان أكثرهم قرآنا His statement (and he was the most knowledgeable of the Qur’an among them) is an indicator towards their reason for making him their leader (in salat **) despite that they were of more noble statuses than him**.

In the report of al-Tabarani, it is narrated: “ because he was the most knowledgeable of them of the Qur’an)[^7] The explanation is confirmed by this riwayah of Imam Ibn Abi Shaybah (d. 235 H): حدثنا ابن نمير عن عبيد الله عن نافع عن ابن عمر أن المهاجرين حين أقبلوا من مكة نزلوا إلى جنب قباء فأمهم سالم مولى أبي حذيفة لأنه كان أكثرهم قرآنا فيهم أبو سلمة بن عبد الأسد وعمر بن الخطاب.

Ibn Numayr – ‘Ubayd Allah – Nafi’ – Ibn ‘Umar: When the Muhajirun fled Makkah, they camped near Quba and Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah, led them in salat because he was the most knowledgeable of the Qur’an among them . Among them were Abu Salamah b. ‘Abd al-Asad and ‘Umar b. al-Khattab .[^8] Grading another hadith with this same exact chain, ‘Allamah al-Albani (d.

1420 H) declares: وهذا إسناد صحيح على شرط الشيخين This chain is sahih upon the standard of the two Shaykhs.[^9] Al-Bukhari further records: حدثنا عثمان بن صالح حدثنا عبد الله بن وهب أخبرني ابن جريج أن نافعا أخبره أن ابن عمر رضي الله عنهما أخبره قال كان سالم مولى أبي حذيفة يؤم المهاجرين الأولين وأصحاب النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم في مسجد قباء فيهم أبو بكر وعمر وأبو سلمة وزيد وعامر بن ربيعة ‘Uthman b. Salih – ‘Abd Allah b.