Mu'jam Kabir Tabarani 6323 — We lived by a large watering place

Sayyiduna Amr bin Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: We lived by a large watering place at the side of the road. Riders would come to us and we would ask them: What does this man say? They meant the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). They would say: He says such, he commands them to do such, and forbids you from such. I was a boy of six at the time, and whatever I heard, it was as though it were written on my heart. And people used to say: Watch what this man's own people do. When Makkah was conquered, people sent their delegations to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and my father was the delegate of his people. He came to them and said: "I have come to you from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He commands you to do such and such and forbids you from such and such, and when the time of prayer comes, let the one of you who knows the most Qur'an lead you in prayer." So they looked and found no one who knew more Qur'an than me, so they put me forward and I led them in prayer, wearing a striped cloak of mine, or a shamlah (wrap) of mine. An old woman said: Will you not cover your reciter's backside from us? So a piece of cloth woven in Bahrain was bought, and a woman of the tribe cut it into a shirt for me. After Islam I was never as happy with anything as I was with that shirt.