Reports on Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him)

Imam al-Tabarani said: He is Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Qays, Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him), the ally of the family of Utbah bin Abd Shams. He accepted Islam in Makkah, then emigrated to the land of Abyssinia, until he came at the time of Khaybar. It has been said: Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) passed away in 50 AH and was buried at a place called al-Tutah, two miles from Kufah.

Shabab al-Usfuri narrated: Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) became the governor of Kufah; his family was there, and he had a house next to the congregational mosque. Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) passed away in 51 AH. About his lineage he said: He is Sayyiduna Abu Musa Abdullah bin Qays al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him); he is Abdullah bin Qays bin Hisn bin Harb bin Amir bin Tamim bin Bakr bin Amir bin Adi bin Wa'il bin Najiyah bin Jamahir bin al-Ash'ar bin Udad bin Urayb bin Yashjub bin Zayd bin Kahlan bin Sinan bin Yashjub bin Yaghuth bin Qahtan.
Al-Tabarani recorded it.

Qays bin al-Rabi' bin Abi Musa narrated: Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) passed away in 52 AH.
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains al-Waqidi, who is da'if (weak).

Sa'id bin Abd al-Aziz narrated: Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at Khaybar, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed for the oldest of the people of the ship and the youngest of them. Sayyiduna Abu Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say: "I was the oldest of the people of the ship, and my son was the youngest." Sa'id narrated: In that ship were Sayyiduna Abu Amir (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Abu Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Ka'b bin Asim (may Allah be pleased with him); these people came at al-Abwa'.
Al-Tabarani recorded it; it is munqati' (broken) in its chain, and its chain is hasan (good).

Ibn Ishaq narrated: Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) was one of those who emigrated to the land of Abyssinia. He stayed there until the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Amr bin Umayyah (may Allah be pleased with him) to the Negus, and the Negus sent them in two ships, and they came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) after al-Hudaybiyah, around the Battle of Khaybar.
Al-Tabarani recorded it; it is munqati' (broken) in its chain, and its narrators up to Ibn Ishaq are thiqat (trustworthy).

Ibn Buraydah narrated from his father: Sayyiduna Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) went out at night and met the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took him by the hand and entered the mosque with him, and there the voice of a man reciting could be heard. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Do you think he is showing off?" Sayyiduna Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) remained silent. Then that man began to supplicate and said: "O Allah! I ask You by virtue of my bearing witness that You are Allah, besides whom there is no god; You are the One, You are the Self-Sufficient, the One who has not begotten anyone, nor was He begotten, and there is none equal to Him." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By the One in whose Hand is my soul" (the narrator is unsure; perhaps the words are:) "By the One in whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad, he has asked Allah Almighty by His Greatest Name, by which, when He is asked, Allah Almighty gives, and when He is called upon, Allah Almighty answers." The narrator said: When the next night came, Sayyiduna Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) went out after Isha and met the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took him by the hand and took him into the mosque, and there the voice of a man reciting could be heard. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do you think he is showing off?" Sayyiduna Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Messenger of Allah! Are you saying that he is one who shows off?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No! Rather, he is an obedient believer. No! Rather, he is an obedient believer." The narrator said: It was Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) who was reciting, and his voice was coming from a corner of the mosque. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Al-Ash'ari (the narrator is unsure; perhaps the words are:) Abdullah bin Qays has been given a melodious voice like that of Sayyiduna Dawud (peace be upon him)." I said: "O Messenger of Allah! Shall I not tell him?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes! Tell him." So I told him, and Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "You are my friend; you have told me something from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)."
Ahmad recorded it. In the Sahih, part of it is narrated with these words: "Indeed, Abdullah bin Qays has been given a share of the melodious voices of the family of Dawud." And here the words are: "He has been given a share of the melodious voice of Sayyiduna Dawud (peace be upon him)." The narrators of Ahmad are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Mihjan bin al-Adra' (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took me by the hand until he climbed Mount Uhud. Then he looked towards Madinah and said: "Woe to its mother! It is a town whose inhabitants will abandon it while it is at its most flourishing. The Dajjal will come to it and will find an angel with a drawn sword on every one of its passes." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came down from there and came to the mosque. There a man was standing, praying and reciting. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What do you think of Abdullah bin Qays? He is a righteous, forbearing man." I said: "O Messenger of Allah! Shall I not give him the glad tidings?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Beware of letting him hear this and thereby ruining him." The narrator said: Then he went on until we came to the mosque. We found Sayyiduna Buraydah al-Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him) at the door of the mosque. In the mosque there was a man who was prolonging his prayer. There was an element of humour in Sayyiduna Buraydah's (may Allah be pleased with him) nature, and he said: "O Mihjan! Will you not pray the way Sakiyyah is praying?" But he gave no reply and went back. When he reached his house, he said: "The best of our religion is what is easiest; the best of your religion is what is easiest; the best of your religion is what is easiest; the best of your religion is what is easiest."
Al-Tabarani recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih, except Raja' bin Abi Raja', and Ibn Hibban declared him thiqah (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Abu Musa has been given a share of the melodious voice of Sayyiduna Dawud (peace be upon him)."
(Allamah al-Haythami said:) I say:
Ibn Majah recorded it, except that he narrated the words: "of the melodious voices of the family of Dawud." And here the words are: "of the melodious voice of Sayyiduna Dawud (peace be upon him)."
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih, except Muhammad bin Amr, and he is hasan al-hadith (good in hadith).

Sayyiduna Salamah bin Qays (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) while he was reciting, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This man has been given a share of the melodious voices of the family of Dawud."
Al-Tabarani recorded it, and its chain is jayyid (good).

Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: One night the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him), who was reciting at the time, and Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The two of them stood and listened attentively to his recitation, and then they both went on. The next morning, when Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) met the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "O Abu Musa! Last night I passed by you, and Aishah was with me. You were reciting in your house, and we stood and listened attentively to your recitation." Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Prophet of Allah! Had I known of your presence, I would have beautified (my recitation) even more for your sake."
(Allamah al-Haythami said:) I say: Part of this report is mentioned in the Sahih.
Al-Tabarani recorded it, and its narrators meet the condition of the Sahih, except Khalid bin Nafi' al-Ash'ari; Ibn Hibban declared him thiqah (trustworthy), and a group declared him da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) was sitting in his house, and people gathered around him, and he began to recite the Qur'an to them. The narrator said: A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah! Are you not amazed at Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him)? He is sitting in his house, people have gathered around him, and he is reciting the Qur'an to them." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Are you able to seat me somewhere where none of them can see me?" The man said: "Very well." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went out, and the man seated him in a place where none of them could see him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) kept listening to the recitation of Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him). The narrator said: Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He is reciting with something like the melodious voices of the family of Dawud."
Abu Ya'la recorded it, and its chain is hasan (good).

Sayyiduna al-Bara' (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) heard Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) reciting, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The voice of this man is one of the melodious voices of the family of Dawud."
Abu Ya'la recorded it; its narrators have been declared trustworthy, though there is disagreement about them.

Abd al-Rahman bin Ka'b bin Malik narrated: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him), having heard him reciting; he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Your brother has been given a share of the melodious voices of the family of Dawud."
Al-Tabarani recorded it as a mursal report, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Imam al-Sha'bi narrated: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote in his will: "Do not let any official appointed by me remain in his post for more than one year, but keep al-Ash'ari in his post for four years."
Ahmad recorded it with a hasan (good) chain, except that Imam al-Sha'bi did not hear from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him).