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:18427 – ʿAbd al-Raḥman b. Muʿāwiyah al-ʿUtbī al-Miṣrī > Yūsuf b. ʿAdī > Ayyūb b. Mudrik > Makḥūl > Wāthilah b. al-Asqaʿ

[Machine] The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Stand in a row and let the one who is most excellent in prayer lead you, for Allah chooses from the angels and from the people."  

الطبراني:١٨٤٢٧ – حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ مُعَاوِيَةَ الْعُتْبِيُّ الْمِصْرِيُّ ثنا يُوسُفُ بْنُ عَدِيٍّ ثنا أَيُّوبُ بْنُ مُدْرِكٍ عَنْ مَكْحُولٍ عَنْ وَاثِلَةَ بْنِ الْأَسْقَعِ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ «اصْطَفُّوا وَلْيَتَقَدَّمْكُمْ فِي الصَّلَاةِ أَفْضَلُكُمْ فَإِنَّ اللهَ ﷻ يَصْطَفِي مِنَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ وَمِنَ النَّاسِ»  

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Collected by Suyūṭī
suyuti:3351a –
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السيوطي:٣٣٥١a –

"اصْطَفُّوا، ولْيتقَدَّمْكُمْ في الصّلاةِ أَفْضَلُكُمْ، فإِن الله ﷻ يَصطفى من الملائكِة ومِن النَّاسِ" .  

[طب] الطبرانى في الكبير عن واثلة