so those who were present would hear his words or witness his deed, and they—some or all of them—would then transmit it to whomever they could. In this way the knowledge reached whichever scholars Allah willed among the Companions, the Successors, and those who came after them.

Later, in another gathering, the Prophet might again relate a report, deliver a legal verdict, render a judgment, or perform an action. Some of those who had been absent from the first session would witness this second one and pass its contents on to others. Thus one group possessed certain pieces of knowledge that another group did not, and vice-versa.

The scholars—whether from the Companions or from later generations—excelled over one another only by virtue of the breadth of their knowledge or its precision. For any single individual to have encompassed every hadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is something no one could ever plausibly claim.

Consider the case of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, the most knowledgeable of the ummah concerning the Prophet’s affairs, his sunnah, and his conduct—especially Abu Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, who was rarely separated from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in travel or in residence. He was with him for the greater part of his time, even staying up with him at night to discuss matters of the Muslims. The same is true of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, for the Prophet ﷺ would often say, “I entered with Abu Bakr and ʿUmar,” and, “I went out with Abu Bakr and ʿUmar.”