Messenger of Allah, who will lead us in prayer? He said: The one of you who knows most of the Qur’an, or memorizes most of the Qur’an, (should act as your imam). There was none in the clan who knew more of the Qur’an than I did. They, therefore, put me in front of them and I was only a boy. And I wore a mantle, Whenever I was present in the gathering of Jarm (name of his clan), I would act as their Imam, and lead them in their funeral prayer until today. Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been narrated by ‘Amr b. Salamah through a different chain of transmitter. This version has: “When my clan visited the Prophet( may peace be upon him) ....” He did not report it on the authority of his father.  

عَنْ أَبِيهِ أَنَّهُمْ وَفَدُوا إِلَى النَّبِيِّ ﷺ فَلَمَّا أَرَادُوا أَنْ يَنْصَرِفُوا قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَنْ يَؤُمُّنَا قَالَ أَكْثَرُكُمْ جَمْعًا لِلْقُرْآنِ أَوْ أَخْذًا لِلْقُرْآنِ قَالَ فَلَمْ يَكُنْ أَحَدٌ مِنَ الْقَوْمِ جَمَعَ مَا جَمَعْتُهُ قَالَ فَقَدَّمُونِي وَأَنَا غُلاَمٌ وَعَلَىَّ شَمْلَةٌ لِي فَمَا شَهِدْتُ مَجْمَعًا مِنْ جَرْمٍ إِلاَّ كُنْتُ إِمَامَهُمْ وَكُنْتُ أُصَلِّي عَلَى جَنَائِزِهِمْ إِلَى يَوْمِي هَذَا  

[Machine] That his father and a group from his people came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when his matter became clear, and the people were learning the Qur'an and fulfilling their needs. Then they asked him, "Who will lead us in prayer? Or who will pray with us?" So, he said, "I will pray for you or with you, whichever is more pleasing to you, whether collectively for the Qur'an or individually for the Qur'an." So they went back to their people and asked about me in the neighborhood, but they did not find anyone who had gathered more than I had gathered. So they brought me forward among them and I prayed with them while I was still a young boy. He said, "I did not witness any gathering of wrongdoing, except that I was their imam until this day."  

أَنَّ أَبَاهُ وَنَفَرًا مِنْ قَوْمِهِ وَفَدُوا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ حِينَ ظَهَرَ أَمْرُهُ وَتَعَلَّمَ النَّاسُالْقُرْآَنَ فَقَضَوْا حَوَائِجَهُمْ ثُمَّ سَأَلُوهُ مَنْ يُصَلِّي لَنَا؟ أَوْ يُصَلِّي بِنَا فَقَالَ يُصَلِّي لَكُمْ أَوْ بِكُمْ أَكْثَرُكُمْ جَمْعًا لِلْقُرْآنِ أَوْ أَخْذًا لِلْقُرْآنِ فَقَدِمُوا عَلَى قَوْمِهِمْ فَسَأَلُوا فِي الْحَيِّ فَلَمْ يَجِدُوا أَحَدًا جَمَعَ أَكْثَرَ مِمَّا جَمَعْتُ فَقَدَّمُونِي بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ فَصَلَّيْتُ بِهِمْ وَأَنَا غُلَامٌ عَلَيَّ شَمْلَةٌ لِي قَالَ فَمَا شَهِدْتُ مَجْمَعًا مِنْ جَرْمٍ إِلَّا كُنْتُ إِمَامَهُمْ إِلَى يَوْمِي هَذَا  

[Machine] That his father and some people from his tribe came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when the people embraced Islam and learned the Quran and fulfilled their needs. Then they asked the Prophet ﷺ , "Who will lead us in prayer?" He said, "The one among you who has the most knowledge of the Quran." So they returned to their people and asked, but they could not find anyone who had gathered more knowledge than me, even though I was a young boy under their care. So they brought me forward and I led the prayer for them, and I have been their imam ever since. He used to lead them in their mosque and pray over their funerals.  

أَنَّ أَبَاهُ وَأُنَاسًا مِنْ قَوْمِهِ قَدِمُوا عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ حِينَ أَسْلَمَ النَّاسُ وَتَعَلَّمُوا الْقُرْآنَ وَقَضَوْا حَوَائِجَهُمْ ثُمَّ سَأَلُوا النَّبِيَّ ﷺ مَنْ يُصَلِّي بِنَا؟ أَوْ مَنْ يُصَلِّي لَنَا؟ قَالَ يُصَلِّي بِكُمْ أَوْ يُصَلِّي لَكُمْ أَكْثَرُكُمْ أَخْذًا أَوْ قَالَ أَكْثَرُكُمْ جَمْعًا لِلْقُرْآنِ فَرَجَعُوا إِلَى قَوْمِهِمْ فَسَأَلُوهُمْ فَلَمْ يَجِدُوا أَحَدًا جَمَعَ أَكْثَرَ مِمَّا جَمَعْتُ وَأَنَا غُلَامٌ عَلَيَّ شَمْلَةٌ فَقَدَّمُونِي بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ فَصَلَّيْتُ بِهِمْ أَوْ قَالَ فَصَلَّيْتُ لَهُمْ فَلَمْ أَزَلْ إِمَامَ جَرْمٍ إِلَى يَوْمِي هَذَا وَكَانَ يَؤُمُّهُمْ فِي مَسْجِدِهِمْ وَيُصَلِّي عَلَى جَنَائِزِهِمْ  

[Machine] That his father and a group of his people went to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when the people embraced Islam to learn the Quran. When they finished their request, they said, "Who will lead us in prayer or pray for us?" He said, "The one among you who is most knowledgeable in the Quran will lead you in prayer." They went back to their people and asked, but they did not find anyone who had memorized or learned more of the Quran than he had. At that time, he was a young boy and had a mole on his face. They brought him forward, and he led them in prayer. I have not witnessed a leader of a congregation committing any sin, and I was their leader until this day." Mus'ab bin Habib said, "He prayed the funeral prayer for them and in their mosques until he left. We narrated this hadith in the chapter on imamate from Ayyub Al-Sakhtiyani, from 'Amr, and he mentioned in the narration, 'I was seven years old or six years old.' In another version, 'seven or eight years old.'  

أَنَّ أَبَاهُ وَنَفَرًا مِنْ قَوْمِهِ وَفَدُوا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ حِينَ أَسْلَمَ النَّاسُ لِيَتَعَلَّمُوا الْقُرْآنَ فَلَمَّا قَضَوْا حَاجَتَهُمْ قَالُوا مَنْ يُصَلِّي بِنَا أَوْ لَنَا فَقَالَ يُصَلِّي بِكُمْ أَكْثَرُكُمْ أَخْذًا أَوْ جَمْعًا لِلْقُرْآنِ قَالَ فَجَاؤُوا إِلَى قَوْمِهِمْ فَسَأَلُوا فَلَمْ يَجِدُوا أَحَدًا جَمَعَ أَوْ أَخَذَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ أَكْثَرَ مِمَّا جَمَعْتُ أَوْ أَخَذْتُ وَأَنَا يَوْمَئِذٍ غُلَامٌ وَعَلَيَّ شَمْلَةٌ لِي فَقَدَّمُونِي فَصَلَّيْتُ بِهِمْ فَمَا شَهِدْتُ مَجْمَعًا مِنْ جَرْمٍ إِلَّا وَأَنَا إِمَامُهُمْ إِلَى يَوْمِي هَذَا قَالَ مِسْعَرُ بْنُ حَبِيبٍ وَكَانَ يُصَلِّي بِهِمْ عَلَى جَنَائِزِهِمْ وَفِي مَسَاجِدِهِمْ حَتَّى مَضَى لِسَبِيلِهِ وَرُوِّينَاهُ فِي بَابِ الْإِمَامَةِ عَنْ أَيُّوبَ السَّخْتِيَانِيِّ عَنْ عَمْرٍو وَقَالَ فِي الْحَدِيثِ وَأَنَا ابْنُ سَبْعِ سِنِينَ أَوْ سِتِّ سِنِينَ وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ سَبْعٍ أَوْ ثَمَانٍ  

[Machine] "My people came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ after they had finished reading the Qur'an, and when they had fulfilled their needs, they asked him who would lead them in prayer. He said, 'The one among you who has memorized the most of the Qur'an or who has learned the most from the Qur'an.' They returned to their people and asked them, but they did not find anyone who had memorized or learned more of the Qur'an than me. So they appointed me as their leader, even though I was just a young boy, and I used to lead them in prayer."  

قَدِمَ قَوْمِي إِلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ بَعْدَ مَا قَرَءُوا الْقُرْآنَ فَلَمَّا قَضَوْا حَوَائِجَهُمْ فَسَأَلُوهُ مَنْ يَؤُمُّهُمْ؟ فَقَالَ أَكْثَرُكُمْ جَمْعًا لِلْقُرْآنِ أَوْ أَخْذًا لِلْقُرْآنِ قَالَ فَرَجَعُوا إِلَى قَوْمِهِمْ فَسَأَلُوهُمْ فَلَمْ يَجِدُوا أَحَدًا أَجْمَعَ أَوْ آخِذًا لِلْقُرْآنِ مِنِّي قَالَ فَقَدَّمُونِي وَأَنَا غُلَامٌ وَكُنْتُ أُصَلِّي لَهُمْ أَوْ أُصَلِّي بِهِمْ قَالَ فَمَا شَهِدْتُ مَجْمَعًا إِلَّا كُنْتُ إِمَامَهُمْ  

"عَنْ عَمْرو بْن سَلَمَةَ الْجَرمىِّ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ: أَنَّهُمْ وَفَدَوُا إِلَى النَّبىِّ ﷺ ، فَلمَّا أَرَادُوا أَنْ يَنْصَرِفُوا قَالُوا: قُلْنَا: يَارَسُولَ اللهِ! مَنْ يُصَلِّى بِنا؟ قَالَ: أكْثَرُكُمْ جَمْعًا لِلْقُرْآنِ أَوْ أَخْذًا لِلْقُرْآنِ فَلَمْ يَكُنْ فِيهِمْ أَحَدٌ جَمَعَ مِنَ الْقُرآنِ مَا جَمَعْتُهُ، فَقَدَّمُونى وَأَنَا غُلاَمٌ، فَقُمْتُ أُصَلِّى بِهِمْ وَعَلىَّ شَمْلَةٌ، فَمَا شَهِدْتُ مَجْمَعًا مِنْ جَرْمٍ إِلاَّ كُنْتُ إِمَامَهُمْ، وَأُصَلِّى عَلَى جَنَائِزِهِمْ إِلَى يَوْمى هَذَا".