Muḥammad ibn Sābiq reported: Hashraj ibn Nubātah narrated to us, from Mūsā ibn Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Taymī, who heard Abū Qilābah say:
“The Sunābihī related to me that ʿUbādah ibn al-Ṣāmit had told him:
‘I was alone with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and asked, “Which of your Companions is dearest to you, so that I may love him as well?”
He replied, “Keep this to yourself during my lifetime: Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, then ʿUmar, then ʿAlī.”
After that he fell silent, so I said, “And who after them, O Messenger of Allah?”
He answered, “Who else could it be but al-Zubayr, Ṭalḥah, Saʿd, Abū ʿUbaydah, Muʿādh, Abū Ṭalḥah, Abū Ayyūb, you O ʿUbādah, Ubayy ibn Kaʿb, Abū al-Dardāʾ, Ibn Masʿūd, Ibn ʿAwf, Ibn ʿAffān, and then this group from among the freedmen: Salmān, Suhayb, Bilāl, and ʿAmmār (1).”’
Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Quraẓī said, “Five of the Anṣār collected the entire Qur’an during the Prophet’s lifetime ﷺ: Muʿādh, ʿUbādah, Ubayy, Abū Ayyūb, and Abū al-Dardāʾ.”
When ʿUmar (2) was caliph, Yazīd (3) ibn Abī Sufyān wrote to him:
“The people of Syria are numerous, and they need someone to teach them the Qur’an and give them legal understanding.”
ʿUmar replied, “Send me three men.”
They said, “This one is elderly”—meaning Abū Ayyūb—“and this one is ill”—meaning Ubayy.
Thus the three set out for Syria. He said, “Begin with Ḥimṣ; when you are satisfied with the people there, let one of you go on to Damascus and another to Palestine (4).”