Mu'adh ahead of them by a stone’s throw (1).”
It has been narrated from Umar ibn al-Khattab, from Muhammad ibn Ka'b in mursal form, from Abu 'Awn likewise in mursal form, and from al-Hasan al-Basri.
- As for the hadith of Umar, Sa'id ibn Abi 'Arubah narrated from Shahr ibn Hawshab, who said: Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “If I were to appoint Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) as my successor, and my Lord, the Exalted, asked me: ‘What prompted you to do that?’ I would say: ‘I heard Your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say...’” He then cited the hadith.
It was recorded by Ibn Sa'd in al-Tabaqat (2/348 and 3/590), al-Mahamili in al-Amali (3/35/1), and Abu Nu'aym in al-Hilyah (1/228), whose wording is given here.
I say: This chain of transmission is weak because of Shahr ibn Hawshab, for he had poor retention. Moreover, he did not meet Umar ibn al-Khattab, so the chain is interrupted. However, Abu Nu'aym connected it (1/229), saying: Abu Hamid Thabit ibn Abd Allah al-Naqid narrated to us; Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Matar narrated to us; Abdah ibn Abd al-Rahim narrated to us; Damrah ibn Rabi'ah narrated to us from Yahya ibn Abi 'Amr al-Saybani, from Abu al-'Ajfa'—or Abu al-'Ajma'; Abdah was uncertain—which said: It was said to Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), “Would you not appoint a successor for us?” He then mentioned something similar.
I say: This is a good chain of transmission. All its narrators are trustworthy and known, with biographical entries in al-Tahdhib, except for this Ibn Matar. Al-Khatib included a biographical notice on him in al-Tarikh (11/337) and reported that al-Daraqutni deemed him trustworthy. As for Thabit ibn Abd Allah al-Naqid, I have not found a biographical notice for him in any of the sources currently available to me. Perhaps he has an entry in Abu Nu'aym’s Akhbar Isfahan; this should be checked. (2) In any case, it is a good chain of transmission, as stated, in light of the mursal supporting reports that follow.
- As for the hadith of Muhammad ibn Ka'b, it has two routes from him:
The first is through 'Amr ibn Abi 'Amr, from him, in a report attributed to the Prophet: “Mu'adh ibn Jabal is ahead of the scholars by a stone’s throw.”