Caution: Translations of Quran and Ḥadīth may lead to possible misapplications and misinterpretations. This site is intended for students of sacred knowledge that are proficient in comprehending classical Arabic and have a strong foundation in Islamic sciences. Also note that religious injunctions rely on several aspects beyond what one may glean through reading individual aḥādīth.
Qurʾān Bukhārī Muslim Nasāʾī Abū Dāwūd Tirmidhī Ibn Mājah Mālik Aḥmad Dārimī Ḥākim Ibn Ḥibbān Ṭabarānī Nasāʾī's Kubrá Bayhaqī al-Luʾluʾ wa-al-Marjān Ibn Rajab's Fifty Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn Aḥmad's Zuhd Suyūṭī
tabarani:14748 – Aḥmad b. Zuhayr al-Tustarī > ʿAlī b. Dāwud al-Qanṭarī > Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Ramlī > Muḥammad b. Yūsuf al-Firyābī > Sufyān > Fiṭr b. Khalīfah > Ismāʿīl b. Rajāʾ > Aws b. Ḍamʿaj > Abū Masʿūd al-Anṣārī

[Machine] The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Let the most knowledgeable among you be your leader in reciting the Book of Allah. If your recitation is the same, then the most knowledgeable among you in the Sunnah. If your knowledge of the Sunnah is the same, then the earliest among you to emigrate. If your date of migration is the same, then the oldest among you."  

الطبراني:١٤٧٤٨ – حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ زُهَيْرٍ التُّسْتَرِيُّ ثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ دَاوُدَ الْقَنْطَرِيُّ ثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ الرَّمْلِيُّ ثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يُوسُفَ الْفِرْيَابِيُّ عَنْ سُفْيَانَ عَنْ فِطْرِ بْنِ خَلِيفَةَ عَنْ إِسْمَاعِيلَ بْنِ رَجَاءٍ عَنْ أَوْسِ بْنِ ضَمْعَجٍ عَنْ أَبِي مَسْعُودٍ الْأَنْصَارِيِّ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ «لِيَؤُمَّكُمْ أَقْرَؤُكُمْ لِكِتَابِ اللهِ فَإِنْ كَانَتِ الْقِرَاءَةُ وَاحِدَةً فَأَعْلَمُكُمْ بِالسُّنَّةِ فَإِنْ كَانَتِ السُّنَّةُ وَاحِدَةً فَأَقْدَمُكُمْ هِجْرَةً فَإِنْ كَانَتِ الْهِجْرَةُ وَاحِدَةً فَأَقْدَمُكُمْ سِنًّا»  

See similar narrations below:

Collected by Nasāʾī, Ibn Ḥibbān
nasai:780 – Qutaybah > Fuḍayl b. ʿIyāḍ > al-Aʿmash > Ismāʿīl b. Rajāʾ > Aws b. Ḍamʿaj > Abū Masʿūd

"The Messenger of Allah ﷺsaid: 'Let the one who has most knowledge of the Book of Allah lead the people in prayer. If they are equal in terms of knowledge of the Qur'h, let the one who emigrated first (lead them). If they are equal in terms of emigration, let the one who has more knowledge of the Sunnah, (lead them). If they are equal in terms of knowledge of the Sunnah, let the one who is oldest (lead them). Do not lead a man in prayer in his place of authority, and do not sit in his place of honor, unless he gives you permission."'  

النسائي:٧٨٠ – أَخْبَرَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ قَالَ أَنْبَأَنَا فُضَيْلُ بْنُ عِيَاضٍ عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ عَنْ إِسْمَاعِيلَ بْنِ رَجَاءٍ عَنْ أَوْسِ بْنِ ضَمْعَجٍ عَنْ أَبِي مَسْعُودٍ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَؤُمُّ الْقَوْمَ أَقْرَؤُهُمْ لِكِتَابِ اللَّهِ فَإِنْ كَانُوا فِي الْقِرَاءَةِ سَوَاءً فَأَقْدَمُهُمْ فِي الْهِجْرَةِ فَإِنْ كَانُوا فِي الْهِجْرَةِ سَوَاءً فَأَعْلَمُهُمْ بِالسُّنَّةِ فَإِنْ كَانُوا فِي السُّنَّةِ سَوَاءً فَأَقْدَمُهُمْ سِنًّا وَلاَ تَؤُمَّ الرَّجُلَ فِي سُلْطَانِهِ وَلاَ تَقْعُدْ عَلَى تَكْرِمَتِهِ إِلاَّ أَنْ يَأْذَنَ لَكَ  

ذِكْرُ الْإِخْبَارِ عَمَّنْ يَسْتَحِقُّ الْإِمَامَةَ لِلنَّاسِ

ibnhibban:2133 – al-Ḥasan b. Sufyān > Abū Bakr b. Abū Shaybah > Abū Khālid al-Aḥmar > al-Aʿmash > Ismāʿīl b. Rajāʾ > Aws b. Ḍamʿaj > Abū Masʿūd

"The Messenger of Allah ﷺsaid: 'Let the one who has most knowledge of the Book of Allah lead the people in prayer. If they are equal in terms of knowledge of the Qur'h, let the one who emigrated first (lead them). If they are equal in terms of emigration, let the one who has more knowledge of the Sunnah, (lead them). If they are equal in terms of knowledge of the Sunnah, let the one who is oldest (lead them). Do not lead a man in prayer in his place of authority, and do not sit in his place of honor, unless he gives you permission."' (Using translation from Nasāʾī 780)  

ابن حبّان:٢١٣٣ – أَخْبَرَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ سُفْيَانَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو خَالِدٍ الْأَحْمَرُ عَنِ الْأَعْمَشِ عَنْ إِسْمَاعِيلَ بْنِ رَجَاءٍ عَنْ أَوْسِ بْنِ ضَمْعَجٍ عَنْ أَبِي مَسْعُودٍ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ «يَؤُمُّ الْقَوْمَ أَقْرَؤُهُمْ لِكِتَابِ اللَّهِ فَإِنْ كَانُوا فِي الْقِرَاءَةِ سَوَاءً فَأَعْلَمُهُمْ بِالسُّنَّةِ فَإِنْ كَانُوا فِي السُّنَّةِ سَوَاءً فَأَقْدَمُهُمْ هِجْرَةً فَإِنْ كَانُوا فِي الْهِجْرَةِ سَوَاءً فَأَقْدَمُهُمْ سِنًّا وَلَا يَؤُمَّنَّ الرَّجُلُ الرَّجُلَ فِي سُلْطَانِهِ وَلَا يَقْعُدُ عَلَى تَكْرِمَتِهِ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ»