“Whoever dies knowing that there is no God but Allah will enter Paradise.” (Using translation from Aḥmad 498)   

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ مَنْ قَالَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ  

[Machine] "We were in the presence of a man who was passing by people, so we would ask them about this matter. They would say, 'He is a man who claims to be a prophet and that Allah has sent him, and that Allah has revealed to him such and such.' I would not hear anything except that I would memorize it as if it were being engraved on my heart with glue. Until I gathered a lot of Qur'an from him. The Arabs would criticize Islam, saying, 'Look, if victory comes to him, then he is truthful and he is a prophet.' So when the Battle of Fath (conquest) came to us, every tribe rushed to embrace Islam. My father also became a Muslim. So he stayed with the Prophet ﷺ whatever Allah willed. Then he came to us, and when we saw him, he said, 'I have come to you, I swear by Allah, from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ with the truth.' Then he said, 'He orders you to do such and such and prohibits you from doing such and such, and that you should pray such and such prayer at such and such time. So when the prayer time comes, one of you should give the call to prayer and lead you in prayer, the one with the most Qur'an among you.' So they looked at our people and found no one who had more Qur'an than me, so they brought me forward and I would lead them in prayer, even though I was only six years old.' He said, 'So I would wear a cloak, and when I prostrated, it would shrink from me.' He said, 'A woman from the neighborhood said, 'Shouldn't we cover you from the gaze of your readers?' So she gave me a shirt made of fine Bahraini fabric. I have never been happier with anything more than I was with that shirt.'"  

كُنَّا بِحَضْرَةِ مَاءٍ مَمَرِّ النَّاسِ فَكُنَّا نَسْأَلُهُمْ مَا هَذَا الْأَمْرُ؟ فَيَقُولُونَ رَجُلٌ يَزْعُمُ أَنَّهُ نَبِيٌّ وَأَنَّ اللهَ أَرْسَلَهُ وَأَنَّ اللهَ أَوْحَى إِلَيْهِ كَذَا وَكَذَا فَجَعَلْتُ لَا أَسْمَعُ شَيْئًا مِنْ ذَلِكَ إِلَّا حَفِظْتُهُ كَأَنَّمَا يُغْرَى فِي صَدْرِي بِغِرَاءٍ حَتَّى جَمَعْتُ مِنْهُ قُرْآنًا كَثِيرًا قَالَ فَكَانَتِ الْعَرَبُ تُلَوَّمُ بِإِسْلَامِهَا الْفَتْحَ وَيَقُولُونَ انْظُرُوا فَإِنْ ظَهَرَهُ عَلَيْهِمْ فَهُوَ صَادِقٌ وَهُوَ نَبِيٌّ فَلَمَّا جَاءَتْنَا وَقْعَةُ الْفَتْحِ بَادَرَ كُلُّ قَوْمٍ بِإِسْلَامِ قَوْمِهِمْ فَانْطَلَقَ أَبِي بِإِسْلَامِ أَهْلِ حِوَائِنَا ذَلِكَ فَأَقَامَ مَعَ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ مَا شَاءَ اللهُ أَنْ يُقِيمَ ثُمَّ أَقْبَلَ فَلَمَّا دَنَا مِنَّا تَلَقَّيْنَاهُ فَلَمَّا رَأَيْنَاهُ قَالَ جِئْتُكُمْ وَاللهِ مِنْ عِنْدِ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ حَقًّا قَالَ ثُمَّ قَالَ «إِنَّهُ يَأْمُرُكُمْ بِكَذَا وَكَذَا وَيَنْهَاكُمْ عَنْ كَذَا وَكَذَا وَأَنْ تُصَلُّوا صَلَاةَ كَذَا فِي حِينِ كَذَا فَإِذَا حَضَرَتِ الصَّلَاةُ فَلْيُؤَذِّنْ أَحَدُكُمْ وَلْيَؤُمَّكُمْ أَكْثَرُكُمْ قُرْآنًا» قَالَ فَنَظَرُوا إِلَى أَهْلِ حِوَائِنَا فَمَا وَجَدُوا أَحَدًا أَكْثَرَ مِنِّي قُرْآنًا لِلَّذِي كُنْتُ أَحْفَظُ مِنَ الرُّكْبَانِ فَقَدَّمُونِي بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ فَكُنْتُ أُصَلِّي بِهِمْ وَأَنَا ابْنُ سِتِّ سِنِينَ قَالَ فَكَانَتْ عَلَيَّ بُرْدَةٌ كُنْتُ إِذَا سَجَدْتُ تَقَلَّصَتْ عَنِّي قَالَ فَقَالَتِ امْرَأَةٌ مِنَ الْحَيِّ أَلَا تُغَطُّوا عَنَّا اسْتَ قَارِئِكُمْ قَالَ فَكَسَوْنِي قَمِيصًا مِنْ مَعْقِدِ الْبَحْرَيْنِ فَمَا فَرِحْتُ بِشَيْءٍ أَشَدَّ مِنْ فَرَحِي بِذَلِكَ الْقَمِيصِ  

The one of you who knows most of the Qur’an should act as your imam. I knew the Qur’an 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. (Using translation from Abū Dāʾūd 585)   

كُنَّا بِحَاضِرٍ يَمُرُّ بِنَا مَنْ أَتَى النَّبِيَّ ﷺ فَكَانُوا يَقُولُونَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ كَذَا وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ كَذَا فَحَفِظْتُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ قُرْآنًا كَثِيرًا فَانْطَلَقَ أَبِي وَافِدًا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ فِي نَفَرٍ مِنْ قَوْمِهِ فَعَلَّمَهُمُ الصَّلَاةَ فَقَالَ «لِيَؤُمَّكُمْ أَقْرَؤُكُمْ» قَالَ فَكُنْتُ أَقْرَأَهُمْ لِمَا كُنْتُ أَحْفَظُ فَكُنْتُ أَؤُمُّهُمْ وَعَلَيَّ بُرْدَةٌ إِذَا سَجَدْتُ تَكَشَّفَتْ عَنِّي فَقَالَتِ امْرَأَةٌ مِنَ الْقَوْمِ وَارُوا عَنَّا عَوْرَةَ قَارِئِكُمْ فَاشْتَرَوْا لِي قَمِيصًا عُمَانِيًّا فَمَا فَرِحْتُ بِشَيْءٍ بَعْدَ الْإِسْلَامِ مَا فَرِحْتُ بِهِ فَكُنْتُ أَؤُمُّهُمْ وَأَنَا ابْنُ سَبْعِ سِنِينَ أَوْ ثَمَانِ سِنِينَ  

[Machine] We were by a great body of water on the side of the road, and travelers would come to us, so we would ask them, "What does this man say?" They would mean the Prophet Mohammed, ﷺ , and they would say, "He says so and so, and he commands them to do this, and he forbids you from doing that." I was a boy of six years old, and I did not hear anything except as if it were written in my heart. And the people would say, "Look at what the people of this man do." So when Mecca was conquered, the people sent their delegations to the Messenger of Allah, ﷺ . And my father was one of the delegations of his people. So he came to them and said, "I come to you from the Messenger of Allah, who commands you to do this and forbids you from doing that. And when the prayer is due, let the one with the most Quran among you lead the prayer." So they looked and did not find anyone with more Quran than me, so they made me lead and I prayed with them. I had a cloak or a shawl. An old woman said, "Don't you cover your reciters?" So I bought a garment from Bahrain and a woman from the neighborhood made it into a shirt for me. I have never been so happy with anything after Islam as I was with that shirt.  

كُنَّا بِحَاضِرِ مَاءٍ عَظِيمٍ عَلَى ظَهْرِ الطَّرِيقِ فَيَأْتِينَا الرُّكْبَانُ فَنَسْأَلُهُمْ مَا يَقُولُ هَذَا الرَّجُلُ؟ يَعْنُونَ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ فَيَقُولُونَ يَقُولُ كَذَا وَيَأْمُرُهُمْ بِكَذَا وَيَنْهَاكُمْ عَنْ كَذَا وَأَنَا غُلَامٌ ابْنُ سِتِّ سِنِينَ لَا أَسْمَعُ شَيْئًا إِلَّا كَأَنَّمَا كُتِبَ فِي قَلْبِي وَكَانَ النَّاسُ يَقُولُونَ انْظُرُوا مَا يَصْنَعُ قَوْمُ الرَّجُلِ فَلَمَّا فُتِحَتْ مَكَّةُ بَعَثَ النَّاسُ وُفُودَهُمْ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ وَكَانَ أَبِي وَافِدَ قَوْمِهِ فَأَتَاهُمْ فَقَالَ «أَتَيْتُكُمْ مِنْ عِنْدِ رَسُولِ اللهِ يَأْمُرُكُمْ بِكَذَا وَيَنْهَاكُمْ عَنْ كَذَا وَإِذَا حَضَرَتِ الصَّلَاةُ فَلْيَؤُمَّكُمْ أَكْثَرُكُمْ قُرْآنًا» فَنَظَرُوا فَلَمْ يَجِدُوا أَكْثَرَ قُرْآنًا مِنِّي فَقَدَّمُونِي فَصَلَّيْتُ بِهِمْ عَلَيَّ بُرْدَةٌ لِي أَوْ شَمْلَةٌ لِي فَقَالَتْ عَجُوزٌ أَلَا تُغَطُّونَ عَنَّا اسْتَ قَارِئِكُمْ؟ فَاشْتُرِيَ ثَوْبٌ مِنْ مَقْعَدَةِ الْبَحْرَيْنِ فَقَطَعَتْهُ لِيَ امْرَأَةٌ مِنَ الْحَيِّ قَمِيصًا فَمَا فَرِحْتُ بِشَيْءٍ قَطُّ بَعْدَ الْإِسْلَامِ فَرَحِي بِذَلِكَ الْقَمِيصِ  

[Machine] A group of people from the neighborhood came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and heard him saying, "Let the one among you who knows the most Quran lead you." They brought me forward while I was still a young boy, and I used to lead them in a patched garment that had a slit in it. Whenever I would prostrate, my belly would show, so they said to my father, "Do you not cover him up for us?". And I would encourage them to learn the Quran. Zuhayr said, "He continued to be the imam of his people in prayer and in their funerals."  

جَاءَ نَفَرٌ مِنَ الْحَيِّ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ فَسَمِعُوهُ يَقُولُ «لِيَؤُمَّكُمْ أَكْثَرُكُمْ قُرْآنًا» فَقَدَّمُونِي بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَأَنَا غُلَامٌ فَكُنْتُ أَؤُمُّهُمْ فِي بُرْدَةٍ مَوْصُولَةٍ فَكَانَ فِيهَا فَتْقٌ فَكُنْتُ إِذَا سَجَدْتُ خَرَجَتِ اسْتِي فَقَالُوا لِأَبِي أَلَا تُغَطِّي عَنَّا اسْتَهُ؟ وَكُنْتُ أُرَغِّبُهُمْ فِي تَعْلِيمِ الْقُرْآنِ قَالَ زُهَيْرٌ فَلَمْ يَزَلْ إِمَامَ قَوْمِهِ فِي الصَّلَاةِ وَعَلَى جَنَائِزِهِمْ  

[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