Those who said: the people are led by the one who best recites the Book of Allah

Sayyiduna Abu Mas'ud al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one who is the best reciter of the Book of Allah should lead the prayer. If they are equal in recitation, then the one most knowledgeable of the Sunnah should lead. If they are equal in knowledge of the Sunnah, then the one who emigrated earliest should lead. If they are equal in emigration, then the one who became Muslim earliest should lead. No man should ever lead another man in prayer in the domain of his authority, and no one should sit in another's house on his place of honour without his permission."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When there are three people, one of them should lead them in prayer, and the most deserving of them to lead is the best reciter."

Murrah bin Sharahil says: I was in a room in which Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud, Sayyiduna Hudhayfah and Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with them) were present. Then the time of prayer came, and each of them said to the other: "You go forward." Sayyiduna Abdullah was between Sayyiduna Abu Musa and Sayyiduna Hudhayfah, and the two of them took hold of him and put him forward. I asked: "Why was he put forward?" He said: "He took part in the Battle of Badr."

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) says that Sayyiduna Salim (may Allah be pleased with him) used to lead the Muhajirun and the Ansar in prayer in the mosque of Quba.

Sayyiduna Amr bin Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: When my people returned from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), they said: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to us: "The one among you who recites the Qur'an the most should lead you in prayer." So they called me and taught me bowing and prostration. I used to lead them in prayer while wearing a torn cloak, and they would say to my father: "Can you not cover your son's backside from us?!"

Sayyiduna Amr bin Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: We lived by a watering place, because of which caravans used to stop by us, and among them were some caravans returning from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). I would go to them and listen to what they said, until I had memorised a large part of the Qur'an. People were waiting for the conquest of Makkah before accepting Islam. When Makkah was conquered, people came one after another to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, we are the delegates of such-and-such tribe, and we have come to you to inform you of their Islam." My father too came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to convey the news of his people's Islam. When he was about to return, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Put forward for the prayer the one among you who knows the most Qur'an." They looked around; at that time I was in a large room built by the water. They found no one who recited the Qur'an better than me, so they put me forward for the prayer. I was a young boy, and I used to lead them in prayer.

Abu Salamah bin Abd al-Rahman says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When three Muslims are on a journey, the one who is the best reciter of the Qur'an among them shall lead them in prayer, even if he is the youngest of them. And when he leads them in prayer, he is their leader (amir). That is a leader whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has appointed."

Sayyiduna Amr bin Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from his father that they came as a delegation to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). When they were about to go back, we said: "O Messenger of Allah, who will lead us in prayer?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one among you who knows the most Qur'an should lead you in prayer." Sayyiduna Amr bin Salamah says: At that time there was no one in our tribe who had memorised more of the Qur'an than me, so despite my being young the people put me forward. I used to lead them in prayer while wearing a sheet. In every gathering of the tribe of Jarm that I attended, I was the one who led the prayer, and I have been leading their funeral prayers to this day.

Ibn Sirin says: The one who knows the Qur'an best shall lead the people in prayer.

Ata says: The one with the deepest understanding of the religion shall lead the people in prayer.

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: When the Muhajirun came from Makkah, they encamped near Quba. On that occasion Sayyiduna Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him), used to lead them in prayer, because he knew the most Qur'an among them. Among those people were Sayyiduna Abu Salamah bin Abd al-Asad and Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with them both).