Qaran is a branch of the tribe of Murād.

He came to visit ʿUmar and transmitted only a few reports from him and from ʿAlī.

Those who narrated from him include Yusayr ibn ʿAmr, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā, Abū ʿAbd Rabb al-Dimashqī, and others—just a handful of anecdotes. Nothing with a full isnād has come down from him, so the ḥadith critics were unable to declare him weak. He was one of Allah’s pious friends and among His devoted servants.

Affān (M) stated: Ḥammād ibn Salamah narrated to us, from al-Jurayrī, from Abū Naḍrah, from Usayr ibn Jābir, who said:

When the people of Yemen arrived, ʿUmar—may Allah be pleased with him—would examine the caravans, asking, “Is there anyone among you from Qaran?”

Then the rein of ʿUmar’s mount—or perhaps the rein of Uways—dropped, so one of them handed it to the other, whereupon he recognised him. ʿUmar asked, “What is your name?”

He replied, “I am Uways.”

ʿUmar asked, “Do you have a mother?”

He answered, “Yes.”

ʿUmar said, “Did you once have a white patch on your skin?”

He replied, “Yes. I prayed to Allah and He removed it from me, except for a spot the size of a dirham on my navel, so that I might remember my Lord by it.”

ʿUmar said to him, “Pray for my forgiveness.”

He responded, “You are more entitled to do that for me; you were a Companion of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.”

ʿUmar said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say: ‘The best of the Successors is a man called Uways. He has a mother and once had a white patch, but he prayed to Allah and it disappeared, save for a spot the size of a dirham on his navel.’ ”

So Uways asked forgiveness for him, then slipped into the crowd and we did not know where he went.

Usayr continued: He later arrived in Kūfah. We used to gather in a circle to remember Allah, and he would sit with us. Whenever he spoke, his words sank deep into our hearts; no other discourse had that effect… and he related the account.

Thus the narrator abridged it. (1)

(M): Ibn al-Muthannā narrated to us; Muʿādh ibn Hishām narrated to us, from his father, from Qatādah, from Zurārah ibn Awfā, from Usayr ibn Jābir, who said:

Whenever the reinforcement troops from Yemen passed by him, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb would ask, “Is Uways ibn ʿĀmir among you?”—and he continued doing so until he came upon