153 – ʿUthmān b. Abī al-ʿĀṣ (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Messenger of Allah, appoint me as the imam of my people.” He replied, “You are their imam; accommodate the weakest among them, and take as your mu’adhdhin someone who will not accept a wage for his call.” Reported by the Five; al-Tirmidhī rated it ḥasan and al-Ḥākim declared it ṣaḥīḥ. (1)
Hadith grading
This hadith is authentic. It is recorded by the Five, deemed ḥasan by al-Tirmidhī, and sound by al-Ḥākim and Ibn Khuzaymah. Al-Albānī said that its chain meets Muslim’s criterion. Muslim indeed includes it in his Ṣaḥīḥ through another route, though without the words “and take a mu’adhdhin who will not accept a wage for his call.” That additional phrase is found in Abū ʿAwānah’s Ṣaḥīḥ, and a third chain containing it was ruled sound by al-Tirmidhī.
Vocabulary
• “Accommodate the weakest among them”: i.e., keep the prayer light, mindful of the frailest worshipper.
• “A wage”: a worldly payment for delivering the adhān.
Points derived from the hadith
- A delegation from Thaqīf came to the Prophet ﷺ in Madinah in the ninth year after the Hijrah, arriving from Tāʾif. The Prophet pitched a tent for them in a corner of the mosque so that they could listen to the Quran. Among them was ʿUthmān b. Abī al-ʿĀṣ al-Thaqafī—the youngest of the group—so he remained during that period