The Book Pertaining to the Merits of the Companions (Allah Be Pleased With Them) of the Holy Prophet

Anas reported that after the death of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) Abu Bakr said to 'Umar: Let us visit Umm Aiman as Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) used to visit her. As we came to her, she wept. They (Abu Bakr and Umar) said to her: What makes you weep? What is in store (in the next world) for Allah's-Messenger (may peace be upon him) is better than (this worldly life). She said: I weep not because I am ignorant of the fact that what is in store for Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) (in the next world) is better than (this world), but I weep because the revelation which came from the Heaven has ceased to come. This moved both of them to tears and they began to weep along with her.

Anas reported that Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) did not enter the house of any woman except that of his wives and that of Umm Sulaim. He used to visit her. It was said to him why it was so, whereupon he said: I feel great compassion for her. Her brother was killed while he was with me.

Anas reported that Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said: I entered Paradise and heard the noise of steps. I said: Who is it? They said: She is Ghumaisa, daughter of Milhan, the mother of Anas b. Malik.

Jabir b. 'Abdullah reported: I was shown Paradise and I saw the wife of Abu Talha (i. e. Umm Sulaim) and I heard the noise of steps before me and, lo, it was that of Bilal.

Anas reported that the son of Abu Talba who was born of Umm Sulaim died. She (Umm Sulaim) said to the members of her family: Do not narrate to Abu Talha about his son until I narrate it to him. Abu Talha came (home) ; she presented to him the supper. He took it and drank water. She then embellished herself which she did not do before. He (Abu Talha) had a sexual intercourse with her and when she saw that he was satisfied after sexual intercourse with her, she said: Abu Talha, if some people borrow something from another family and then (the members of the family) ask for its return, would they resist its return? He said: No. She said: I inform you about the death of your son. He was annoyed, and said: You did not inform me until I had a sexual intercourse with you and you later on gave me information about my son. He went to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and informed him what had happened. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: May Allah bless both of you in the night spent by you! He (the narrator) said: She became pregnant. Allah's Messenger (may peace he upon him) was in the course of a journey and she was along with him and when Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) came back to Medina from the journey he did not enter (his house) (during the night). When the people came near Medina, she felt the pangs of delivery. He (Abu Talha) remained with her and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) proceeded on. Abu Talha said: O Lord, you know that I love to go along with Allah's Messenger when he goes out and enter along with him when he enters and I have been detained as Thou seest. Umm Sulaim said: Abu Talha, I do not feel (so much pain) as I was feeling formerly, so better proceed on. So we proceeded on and she felt the pangs of delivery as they reached (Medina) and a child was born and my mother said to me: Anas, none should suckle him until you go to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) tomorrow morning. And when it was morning I carried him (the child) and went along with him to Allah's Messenger (may peace beupon him). He said: I saw that he had in his hand the instrument for the cauterisation of the camels. When he saw me. he said: This is, perhaps, what Umm Sulaim has given birth to. I said: Yes. He laid down that instrument on the ground. I brought that child to him and placed it in his lap and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) asked Ajwa dates of Medina to be brought and softened them in his month. When these had become palatable he placed them in the mouth of that child. The child began to taste them. Then Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: See what love the Ansar have for dates. He then wiped his face and named him 'Abdullah.

This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Anas b. Malik through another chain of transmitters.

Abu Huraira reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said to Bilal: Bilal, narrate to me which act at the time of morning prayer you did in Islam for which you hope to receive good reward, for I heard during the night the sound of your steps before me in Paradise. Bilal said: I did not do any act in Islam for which I hope to get any benefit but this that when I perform complete ablution during the night or day I observe prayer with that purification what Allah has ordained for me to pray.

Abdullah reported that when this verse was revealed: " There is no harm on persons who believe and perform good acts, what they had eaten (formerly) when they avoided it (now) and they affirmed their faith" (v. 93) up to the end. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said to me: You are one amongst them.

Abu Musa reported: When I and my brother came from Yemen we used to consider Ibn Mas'ud and his mother amongst the members of the household. of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) because of their visiting them frequently and staying there for long (periods of) time.

Abu Musa. reported: I came to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and thought that 'Abdullah was amongst the members of the family, or like that.

Abu Ishaq reported that he heard Abu'l-Ahwas say: I was along with Abu Musa and Abu Mas'ud as Ibn Mas'ud died and one of them said to the other: Do you find one like him besides him? Thereupon he said: Do you say this (no one can be his rival)? He was admitted (to the company of the Holy Prophet) whereas we were detained and he had been present in the company of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) whereas we had been absent.

Abu Ahwas reported: We were in the house of Abu Musa along with some of the companions of 'Abdullah and they were looking at the Holy Book. 'Abdullah stood up, whereupon Abu Mas'ud said: I do not know whether Allah's Messenger, (may peace be upon him) has left after him one having a better knowledge (of Islam) than the man who is standing. Abu Musa said: If you say this, that is correct, because he had been present when we had been absent and he was permitted when we were detained.

Zaid b. Wahab reported: I was sitting along with Hudhaifa and Abu Musa, and the rest of the hadith is the same.

'Abdullah (b. Mas'ud) reported that he (said to his companions to conceal their copies of the Qur'an) and further said: He who conceals anything he shall have to bring that which he had concealed on the Day of judgment, and then said: After whose mode of recitation you command me to recite? I in fact recited before AIlah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) more than seventy chapters of the Qur'an and the Companions of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) know it that I have better understanding of the Book of Allah (than they do), and if I were to know that someone had better understanding than I, I would have gone to him. Shaqiq said: I sat in the company of the Companions of Mubkmmad (may peace be upon him) but I did not hear anyone having rejected that (that is, his recitation) or finding fault with it.

Abdullah reported: By Him besides Whom there is no god, there is no chapter in the Book of Allah about which I do not know as to where it was revealed and there is no verse about which I do not know in what context it was revealed, and if I were to know of one having a better understanding of the Book of Allah than I (and I could reach him) on the back of the mule, I would have definitely gone to him on camel's back.

Masruq reported: We used to go to Abdullah b. 'Amr and talk to him, Ibn Numair said: One day we made a mention of Abdullah b. Mas'ud, whereupon he said: You have made mention of a person whom I love more than anything else. I heard Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Learn Qur'an from four persons: Ibn Umm 'Abd (i. e. 'Abdullah b. Mas'ud) he started from him-then Mu'adh b. Jabal and Ubayya b. Ka'b, then Salim the ally of Abu Hudhaifa.

Masruq reported: We were in the company of Abdullah b 'Amr that we made a mention of a hadith from Abdullah b. Mas'ud; thereupon he said: That is a person whose love ever remains (fresh in my heart) after I heard Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Learn Qur'an from four persons: Ibn Umm 'Abd, i e. Abdullah b. Mas'ud and he started from his name-then Ubayy b. Ka'b and Mu'adh b Jabal. Zuhri did not make a mention of the words yaquluhu in his narration

This hadith has been reported on the authority of Abu Bakr b. Abu Shaiba and Abu Kuraib, and both of them said: Abu Mu'awiya narrated to us from A'mash on the authority of Jarir and Waki', and in a narration of Abu Bakr transmitted on the authority of Abu Mu'awiya the mention of Mu'adh has preceded Ubayy's, and in the narration transmitted on the authority of Abu Kuraib, the name of Ubayy preceded Mu'ddh's. This tradition has been transmitted on the authority of Shulba through A'mash, but there is a difference of order of the four.

Masruq reported: They made a mention of Ibn Mas'ud before 'Abdullah b. Amr, whereupon he said: He is a person whose love is always fresh in my heart after I heard Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Learn the recita- tion of the Qur'an from four persons: from Ibn Mas'ud, Salim, the ally of Abu Hudhaifa, Ubayy b. Ka'b, Mu'adh b. Jabal.

Ubaidullah b. Mu'adh reported it on the authority of his father Shu'ba with the same chain of transmitters and he made this addition. He made a mention of these two names but I do not know whose name he mentioned first.

Anas is reported to have said: Four persons collected the Qur'an during the lifetime of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and all of them were Ansar: Mu'adh b. Jabal, Ubayy b. Ka'b, Zaid b. Thabit, Abu Zaid. Qatada said: Anas, who was Abu Zaid? He said: He was one of my uncles.

Hammam said: I said to Anas b. Malik: Who collected the Qur'an during the lifetime of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him)? He said: Four (persons), all of them belonging to Ansir: Ubayy b. Ka'b, Mu'adh b. Jabal, Zaid b. Thabit and a person from the Ansar whose Kunya was Abu Zaid.

Anas b. Malik reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said to Ubayy: Verily Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, has commanded me to recite the Qur'an to you, whereupon he said: (Has) Allah mentioned my name to you? He said: Allah has mentioned your name to me. Thereupon he began to shed tears (of joy)

Anas b. Malik reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said to Ubayy b. Ka'b: I have been commanded to recite to you the Sura (al- Bayyinah) which opens with these words (Lam Yakunil-ladhiyna Kafaruu) He said: Has he mentioned to you my name? He said: Yes; thereupon he shed tears of joy. This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Anas through another chain of transmitters.

Jabir b. 'Abdullah reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying while the bier of Sa'd b. Mu'adh was placed before them: The Throne of the most Gracious shook at the death of Sa'd b. Mu'adh.

Jabir reported that the Throne of the most Compassionate shook because of the death of Sa'd b. Mu'adh.

Anas b. Malik reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as say- ing: That his bier (that of Sa'd) was placed (before them) and the Throne of the most Compassionate shook.