"I came to Al-Madinah, so I asked Allah to make it easy for me to sit with one who is righteous. He made Abu Hurairah accessible to me, so I sat with him and said to him: 'Indeed, I asked Allah to make it easy for me to sit with one who is righteous, and it is to you that I was guided.' So he said to me: 'From where are you?' I said: 'From the people of Al-Kufah, I came to search out good and to seek it.' So he said: 'Is there not among you Sa'd bin Malik whose supplication is answered, Ibn Mas'ud, the one who used to carry the water for purification and the sandals of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and Hudhaifah, the keeper of the secrets of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and 'Ammar whom Allah has guarded from Shaitan upon the tongue of His Prophet, and Salman the companion of the Two Books?'" (Using translation from Tirmidhī 3811)   

أَنْ يُيَسِّرَ لِي جَلِيسًا صَالِحًا فَيَسَّرَ لِي أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ فَقَالَ لِي «مِمَّنْ أَنْتَ؟» فَقُلْتُ مِنْ أَرْضِ الْكُوفَةِ جِئْتُ أَلْتَمِسُ الْعِلْمَ وَالْخَيْرَ فَقَالَ «أَلَيْسَ فِيكُمْ سَعْدُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ مُجَابَ الدَّعْوَةِ وَعَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْعُودٍ صَاحِبَ طَهُورِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَنَعْلَيْهِ وَحُذَيْفَةُ بْنُ الْيَمَانِ صَاحِبُ سِرِّ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَعَمَّارُ بْنُ يَاسِرٍ الَّذِي أَجَارَهُ اللَّهُ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ عَلَى لِسَانِ نَبِيِّهِ ﷺ وَسَلْمَانُ صَاحِبُ الْكِتَابَيْنَ؟» قَالَ قَتَادَةُ «وَالْكِتَابَانِ الْإِنْجِيلُ وَالْفُرْقَانُ» صَحِيحُ الْإِسْنَادِ وَلَمْ يُخَرِّجَاهُ الحديث صحيح  

[Machine] "I traveled to Sham (Levant) and performed two units of prayer, then I said: "O Allah, facilitate for me a righteous companion." I met a group of people, so I sat down, and suddenly, someone came and sat beside me. I asked, 'Who is this?' He replied, 'Abu Darda.' I said, 'Verily, I prayed to Allah to facilitate for me a righteous companion, and He facilitated for me.' He asked, 'Where are you from?' I said, 'From the people of Kufa.' He said, 'Do you not have with you the son of Umm Abdu, the companion of the two sandals, the pillow, and the pitcher, and among you the one whom Allah protected from Satan on the tongue of His Prophet ﷺ , and among you is the companion of the secret of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that no one else knows?'"  

قَدِمْتُ الشَّامَ فَصَلَّيْتُ رَكْعَتَيْنِ ثُمَّ قُلْتُ «اللَّهُمَّ يَسِّرْ لِي جَلِيسًا صَالِحًا» فَلَقِيتُ قَوْمًا فَجَلَسْتُ فَإِذَا بِوَاحِدٍ جَاءَ حَتَّى جَلَسَ إِلَى جَنْبِي فَقُلْتُ مَنْ ذَا؟ قَالَ أَبُو الدَّرْدَاءِ فَقُلْتُ «إِنِّي دَعَوْتُ اللَّهَ أَنْ يُيَسِّرَ لِي جَلِيسًا صَالِحًا فَيَسَّرَ لِي» فَقَالَ مِمَّنْ أَنْتَ؟ قُلْتُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكُوفَةِ قَالَ «أَوَلَيْسَ عِنْدَكُمُ ابْنُ أُمِّ عَبْدٍ صَاحِبُ النَّعْلَيْنِ وَالْوِسَادَةِ وَالْمِطْهَرَةِ وَفِيكُمُ الَّذِي أَجَارَهُ اللَّهُ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ عَلَى لِسَانِ نَبِيِّهِ ﷺ وَفِيكُمْ صَاحِبُ سِرِّ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ الَّذِي لَا يَعْلَمُهُ غَيْرُهُ؟»