—in the army that was with Khālid, the force he had brought to reinforce Abū ʿUbaydah while the latter was laying siege to Damascus. When we reached them, Abū ʿUbaydah said to Khālid, “Step forward and lead the prayer, for you are more entitled to the imamate; you have come to support me.”

Khālid replied, “I would never place myself before a man about whom I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, ‘Every community has a trustee, and the trustee of this community is Abū ʿUbaydah ibn al‐Jarrāḥ (1).’”

Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah reported to us; ʿAbd al-Raḥīm ibn Sulaymān informed us, from Zakariyyā ibn (2) Abī Zāʾidah, from Abū Isḥāq, from Ṣilah, from Ḥudhayfah, who said:

“The Prophet ﷺ was visited by the two bishops of Najrān, al-ʿĀqib and al-Sayyid. They said, ‘Send with us a man who is trustworthy—truly trustworthy.’ He replied, ‘I shall certainly send with you a man who is trustworthy—truly trustworthy.’ The people craned their necks in hope, and he said, ‘Stand up, Abū ʿUbaydah,’ and he dispatched him with them.”

He (ʿAbd al-Raḥīm) also narrated to us through Wakīʿ, from Sufyān, from Abū Isḥāq, a similar report (3).

Al-Tarqafī (4) in his fascicle said: Abū al-Mughīrah narrated to us; Ṣafwān ibn ʿAmr narrated to us; Abū Ḥisbah (5) Muslim ibn Akīs, the client of Ibn Kurayz, narrated to us, from Abū ʿUbaydah, who said, “Someone told me of…"