“Was that you?”

Ibn ʿAjlān added, “Iyās ibn Muʿāwiyah likewise transmitted this report to us.”

Al-Jarīrī narrated—through Abū Naḍrah—from Usayr ibn Jābir—the entire story of Uways al-Qaranī. In it he related that a delegation from Kūfah came to ʿUmar, and among them was a man called Uways. ʿUmar asked, “Is there anyone here from the people of Qaran?” The man was brought forward and ʿUmar said, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ informed us that a man from Yemen will arrive among you. He has left behind only his mother. He once suffered from a white skin condition, prayed to Allah to remove it, and He removed it except for a spot the size of a dirham. His name is Uways. Whoever meets him should ask him to seek forgiveness for you.”

Muslim recorded this report in abridged form through his teachers from al-Jarīrī, and he also recorded it—again in abridged form—through another chain.

Hammād ibn Salamah likewise related—from al-Jarīrī—from Abū Naḍrah—from Usayr—that when the people of Yemen began to arrive, ʿUmar would question each caravan: “Is there anyone among you from Qaran?” When he reached a group from that tribe, the reins of either ʿUmar’s mount or Uways’s touched. ʿUmar handed him the rein, recognised him from the description, and asked, “What is your name?” He replied, “Uways.”

ʿUmar said, “Do you have a mother?” He answered, “Yes.”

ʿUmar asked, “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 Him.”

ʿUmar then requested, “Pray for my forgiveness.” Uways responded, “You are more entitled to ask forgiveness for me—you were a Companion of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.”

ʿUmar said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: ‘The best of the Successors is a man called Uways al-Qaranī; he has a mother and once suffered from a white skin condition.’” And he went on to recount the rest of the hadith.