Abu Muhammad, one of the descendants of the Ansar.

He was born during the caliphate of al-Ṣiddīq (Abu Bakr), or even before that.

He transmitted hadith from ʿUmar, ʿAli, Abu Dharr, Ibn Masʿūd, Bilal, Ubayy ibn Kaʿb, Suhayb, Qays ibn Saʿd, al-Miqdad, Abu Ayyub, his own father, and Muʿadh ibn Jabal—though I do not think he actually met Muʿadh, despite this being stated in the Four Sunan collections.

Another view is that he was born in the middle of ʿUmar’s caliphate and that he saw ʿUmar perform ablution, wiping over his leather socks.

Among those who narrated from him are ʿAmr ibn Murrah, al-Ḥakam ibn ʿUtaybah, Ḥuṣayn ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmayr, al-Aʿmash, and a number of others.

It is also said that he recited the Qurʾan to ʿAli.

Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn said: “I sat with ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā while his companions venerated him as though he were an emir.”

Thābit al-Bunānī said: “Whenever we sat with ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā, he would tell a man, ‘Recite the Qurʾan, for it shows me what you want.’ Then he would explain, ‘This verse was revealed about such-and-such, and that verse about such-and-such.’ ⦗1⦘

ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib transmitted—on the authority of Ibn Abī Laylā—who said: ‘I met one hundred and twenty of the Messenger of Allah’s Companions from among the Ansar. Whenever one of them was asked about something, he wished that his brother would suffice him in replying.’ ⦗2⦘ ⦗3⦘