Jami` at-Tirmidhi 235

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Hannad narrated to us: Abu Muawiyah narrated to us, from al-A‘mash. Mahmud ibn Ghaylan narrated to us: Abu Muawiyah and Abd Allah ibn Numayr narrated to us, from al-A‘mash, from Ismail ibn Raja al-Zubaydi, from Aws ibn Damaj, who said: I heard Abu Masud al-Ansari say that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘The one most entitled to lead the people in prayer is the one who has the strongest command of the Book of Allah. If they are equal in recitation, then the most knowledgeable of them in the Sunnah; if they are equal in knowledge of the Sunnah, then the earliest in emigration; if they are equal in emigration, then the oldest in age. A man should not be led in prayer in his own domain, nor should anyone sit on the place of honor in his house without his permission.’

Mahmud ibn Ghaylan said: Ibn Numayr’s version has ‘the oldest among them’ where the other version has ‘the earliest in emigration.’ Reports on this subject are also related from Abu Sa‘id, Anas ibn Malik, Malik ibn al-Huwayrith, and Amr ibn Salamah. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Abu Masud is hasan sahih. The scholars acted on this: they said that the one most entitled to lead is the one most versed in the Book of Allah and most knowledgeable in the Sunnah. They also said that the homeowner has the strongest right to lead. Some said that if the homeowner gives another person permission, there is no harm in that person leading; others disliked it and said that the Sunnah is for the homeowner to lead. Ahmad ibn Hanbal said concerning the Prophet’s words, ‘A man should not be led in prayer in his own domain, nor should anyone sit on the place of honor in his house without his permission’: if he gives permission, he hoped that the permission covers both matters and saw no harm in the guest leading when granted permission.