Mishkat al-Masabih 1118
The Office of Imam - Section 1
وَعَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «إِذَا كَانُوا ثَلَاثَةً فليؤمهم أحدهم وأحقهم بِالْإِمَامِ أَقْرَؤُهُمْ». رَوَاهُ مُسْلِمٌ وَذَكَرَ حَدِيثَ مَالِكِ بْنِ الْحُوَيْرِثِ فِي بَابٍ بَعْدَ بَابِ «فَضْلِ الْأَذَانِ»
Translation
Abu Sa'id reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When there are three people one of them should lead them. The one among them most worthy to act as imam is the one who is most versed in the Qur’an.” Muslim transmitted it. The tradition of Malik b. al-Huwairith has been mentioned in a chapter following that on the excellence of the adhan (Ch. 7a).
Grades by grader
| Abu Ghuddah | Sahihgraded on nasai:840 | fawazahmed0 |
|---|---|---|
| Muslim | Soundgraded on muslim:672a | hadithunlocked |
| Zubair Ali Zai | Soundgraded on nasai:840 | fawazahmed0, hadithunlocked, sunnah.com |
| al-Albani | Sahihgraded on nasai:840 | fawazahmed0 |
Same hadith, other wordings
- Sunan an-Nasa'i 782إِذَا كَانُوا ثَلاَثَةً فَلْيَؤُمَّهُمْ أَحَدُهُمْ وَأَحَقُّهُمْ بِالإِمَامَةِ أَقْرَؤُهُمْ
- Sunan an-Nasa'i 840إِذَا كَانُوا ثَلاَثَةً فَلْيَؤُمَّهُمْ أَحَدُهُمْ وَأَحَقُّهُمْ بِالإِمَامَةِ أَقْرَؤُهُمْ
- Shahih Muslim 672aإِذَا كَانُوا ثَلاَثَةً فَلْيَؤُمَّهُمْ أَحَدُهُمْ وَأَحَقُّهُمْ بِالإِمَامَةِ أَقْرَؤُهُمْ