1166 – Abū Muhammad Yahyā ibn Muhammad ibn Sā‘id reported to us. He said: ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Sa‘d ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Sa‘d al-Zuhrī reported to us. He said: My paternal uncle—namely, Ya‘qūb ibn Ibrāhīm—reported to me. He said: Sallām Abū ‘Abd Allah al-Tamīmī reported to us. Ibn Sā‘id said: Ibn Salm al-Tawīl al-Madā’inī—from Zayd al-‘Ammī, from Abū al-Siddīq al-Nājī, from Abū Sa‘īd al-Khudrī, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Indeed, the member of this Ummah most compassionate toward it is Abū Bakr; the strongest of them in the religion of Allah is ‘Umar; the most sincerely modest of them is ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān; the best judge among them is ‘Alī; the most proficient of them in reciting the Book of Allah, exalted and majestic, is Ubayy ibn Ka‘b; the most knowledgeable of them in inheritance law is Zayd ibn Thābit; the trustee of this Ummah is Abū ‘Ubayda ibn al-Jarrāh; Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal knows more than anyone else about what Allah has made lawful and unlawful; Abū Hurayra is a repository of knowledge; and Salmān is knowledge beyond reach.” He also mentioned Abū Dharr’s truthfulness.

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—said: Ibn Sā‘id also narrated this hadith to us through more than one chain, from Abū Sa‘īd, Ibn ‘Umar, and others, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn—may Allah have mercy on him—said: It has also been narrated that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “My Companions are like the stars; whichever of them you follow, you will be rightly guided.” ⦗1691⦘

I say: If a person were to perform an act for which he had a precedent in any one of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, he would be upon the straight path. As for anyone who performs an act in which he opposes the Companions—we seek refuge in Allah from him—how wretched his state is!