1783 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; al-Hasan ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAziz narrated to us; from Damrah—by way of a written communication sent to them—from Rajaʾ ibn Abi Salamah, from Ibn ʿAwn, who said:

“We were in the company of a group of people when the time for prayer arrived. Ibn Sirin called out, ‘Let no one step forward to lead us except someone who has gathered the Quran (i.e., memorized it), for there are those here who have gathered the Quran.’

After we had prayed, I asked him, ‘What kept you from leading us yourself?’ He replied, ‘I disliked that people might disperse saying, “Ibn Sirin led us in prayer.”’