The Book of the Merits of the Companions

Abu Ahwas reported:

We were in the house of Abu Musa along with some of the companions of 'Abdullah and they were looking at the Holy Book. 'Abdullah stood up, whereupon Abu Mas'ud said: I do not know whether Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) , (ﷺ) has left after him one having a better knowledge (of Islam) than the man who is standing. Abu Musa said: If you say this, that is correct, because he had been present when we had been absent and he was permitted when we were detained.

Zaid b. Wahab reported:

I was sitting along with Hudhaifa and Abu Musa, and the rest of the hadith is the same.

'Abdullah (b. Mas'ud) reported that he (said to his companions to conceal their copies of the Qur'an) and further said:

He who conceals anything he shall have to bring that which he had concealed on the Day of judgment, and then said: After whose mode of recitation you command me to recite? I in fact recited before AIlah's Messenger (ﷺ) more than seventy chapters of the Qur'an and the Companions of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) know it that I have better understanding of the Book of Allah (than they do), and if I were to know that someone had better understanding than I, I would have gone to him. Shaqiq said: I sat in the company of the Companions of Mubkmmad (ﷺ) but I did not hear anyone having rejected that (that is, his recitation) or finding fault with it.

Abdullah reported:

By Him besides Whom there is no god, there is no chapter in the Book of Allah about which I do not know as to where it was revealed and there is no verse about which I do not know in what context it was revealed, and if I were to know of one having a better understanding of the Book of Allah than I (and I could reach him) on the back of the mule, I would have definitely gone to him on camel's back.

Masruq reported:

We used to go to Abdullah b. 'Amr and talk to him, Ibn Numair said: One day we made a mention of Abdullah b. Mas'ud, whereupon he said: You have made mention of a person whom I love more than anything else. I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: Learn Qur'an from four persons: Ibn Umm 'Abd (i. e. 'Abdullah b. Mas'ud) he started from him-then Mu'adh b. Jabal and Ubayya b. Ka'b, then Salim the ally of Abu Hudhaifa.

Masruq reported:

We were in the company of Abdullah b 'Amr that we made a mention of a hadith from Abdullah b. Mas'ud; thereupon he said: That is a person whose love ever remains (fresh in my heart) after I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: Learn Qur'an from four persons: Ibn Umm 'Abd, i e. Abdullah b. Mas'ud and he started from his name-then Ubayy b. Ka'b and Mu'adh b Jabal. Zuhri did not make a mention of the words yaquluhu in his narration

This hadith has been reported on the authority of Abu Bakr b. Abu Shaiba and Abu Kuraib, and both of them said:

Abu Mu'awiya narrated to us from A'mash on the authority of Jarir and Waki', and in a narration of Abu Bakr transmitted on the authority of Abu Mu'awiya the mention of Mu'adh has preceded Ubayy's, and in the narration transmitted on the authority of Abu Kuraib, the name of Ubayy preceded Mu'ddh's.

This tradition has been transmitted on the authority of Shu'ba through A'mash, but there is a difference of order of the four.

Masruq reported:

They made a mention of Ibn Mas'ud before 'Abdullah b. Amr, whereupon he said: He is a person whose love is always fresh in my heart after I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: Learn the recita- tion of the Qur'an from four persons: from Ibn Mas'ud, Salim, the ally of Abu Hudhaifa, Ubayy b. Ka'b, Mu'adh b. Jabal.

Ubaidullah b. Mu'adh reported it on the authority of his father Shu'ba with the same chain of transmitters and he made this addition. He made a mention of these two names but I do not know whose name he mentioned first.

Anas is reported to have said:

Four persons collected the Qur'an during the lifetime of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and all of them were Ansar: Mu'adh b. Jabal, Ubayy b. Ka'b, Zaid b. Thabit, Abu Zaid. Qatada said: Anas, who was Abu Zaid? He said: He was one of my uncles.

Hammam said:

I said to Anas b. Malik: Who collected the Qur'an during the lifetime of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)? He said: Four (persons), all of them belonging to Ansir: Ubayy b. Ka'b, Mu'adh b. Jabal, Zaid b. Thabit and a person from the Ansar whose Kunya was Abu Zaid.

Jabir b. 'Abdullah reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying while the bier of Sa'd b. Mu'adh was placed before them:

The Throne of the most Gracious shook at the death of Sa'd b. Mu'adh.

Jabir reported that the Throne of the most Compassionate shook because of the death of Sa'd b. Mu'adh.

Anas b. Malik reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as say- ing:

That his bier (that of Sa'd) was placed (before them) and the Throne of the most Compassionate shook.

Al-Bara' reported that a garment of silk was presented to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). His Companions touched it and admired its softness; there- upon he said:

Do you admire the softness of this (cloth)? The handkerchiefs of Sa'd b. Mu'adh in Paradise are better than this.

This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Anas b. Malik through another chain of transmitters.

This hadith has been reported on the authority of Shu'ba combining the two chains of transmitters.

Anas b Malik reported that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) was presented a garment of sundus and he prohibited the use of silk. The persons admired it, whereupon he said:

By Him in Whose Hand is the life of Muhammad, the kerchiefs of Sa'd b. Mu'adh in Paradise are better than this.

Anas reported the king of Dumat al-Jandal presented to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) the garment and lie made no mention (of the fact) that he prohibited the use of silk.