al-Jurayri, from Abū Nadrah, from Usayr, from ʿUmar:

“I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say: ‘The finest of the Successors is a man called Uways. He has a mother, and he once had a white patch on his skin. When you meet him, ask him to seek forgiveness for you (1).’ ”

Ibn al-Madīnī said, “This is a Basran report.”

I add: Usayr ibn Jābir is its sole transmitter.

He is also referred to as Yusayr ibn ʿAmr Abū al-Khabbāz, a Basran. Those who narrated from him include his son Qays, Abū Isḥāq al-Shaybānī, Ibn Sīrīn, and Abū ʿImrān al-Jawnī.

Ibn al-Madīnī also said, “Usayr ibn Jābir was one of the companions of Ibn Masʿūd.”

I heard Sufyān say, “Usayr came to Basra and began relating traditions to them. They remarked, ‘If this is only a stream, what of the river from which he drank?’—meaning Ibn Masʿūd.”

ʿAlī said, “The people of Basra call him Usayr ibn Jābir, whereas the people of Kūfah say Ibn ʿAmr, and it is also said Yusayr (2).”

Al-ʿAwwām ibn Ḥawshab stated, “He was born during the Prophet’s migration and died in 85 AH.”

Abū al-Naḍr (M): Sulaymān ibn al-Mughīrah narrated to us, from (3) Abū Nadrah, from Usayr ibn Jābir, from ʿUmar:

He heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say: “The best of the Successors is a man called Uways. He once had a white patch; he supplicated Allah and it disappeared except for a spot the size of a dirham on his navel. He has no one left in Yemen but his mother. Whoever of you meets him should ask him to seek forgiveness for you.”

ʿUmar said: “A man arrived among us, so I asked him, ‘Where are you from?’

He replied, ‘From Yemen.’

I asked, ‘What is your name?’

He said, ‘Uways.’

I asked, ‘Whom have you left behind in Yemen?’

He said, ‘My mother.’

I asked, ‘Was there not a white patch on you, and you prayed to Allah until He removed it?’

He said, ‘Yes.’

I said, ‘Then ask Allah to forgive me.’

He replied, ‘Would someone like me seek forgiveness for someone like you, O Commander of the Believers?!’ He said: