Narrated by Abu Mas'ud al-Ansari
The one who should lead the people in prayer is the one who best recites the Book of Allah. If they are equal in recitation, then the one who knows the Sunnah best; if they are equal, the one who emigrated first; if they are equal, the oldest.
Sahih Muslim 673
What this hadith teaches
Leading the prayer is a trust given to the most knowledgeable of the Qur'an, not to the richest or most powerful.
Reference and grade
- Found in
- Grade
- Sahih (in Sahih Muslim)
- Narrator
- Abu Mas'ud al-Ansari
- Chapter
- Congregation and rows
The hadith in Arabic نص الحديث
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 سِلْمًا وَلاَ يَؤُمَّنَّ الرَّجُلُ الرَّجُلَ فِي سُلْطَانِهِ وَلاَ يَقْعُدْ فِي بَيْتِهِ عَلَى تَكْرِمَتِهِ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ
Arabic text of Sahih Muslim 673, as given on sunnah.com.