Sunan an-Nasa'i
Sunan an-Nasa'i 840
Arabic hadith text
أَخْبَرَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عَوَانَةَ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي نَضْرَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِذَا كَانُوا ثَلاَثَةً فَلْيَؤُمَّهُمْ أَحَدُهُمْ وَأَحَقُّهُمْ بِالإِمَامَةِ أَقْرَؤُهُمْ " .
Translation
Qutaybah narrated to us: Abu Awanah narrated to us from Qatadah, from Abu Nadr, from Abu Sa‘id, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'When there are three people, one of them should lead them in prayer; the one most entitled to lead is the one who recites the Qur'an best.'