4 of 4 · c. 14 AH / 635 CE onward · Madinah
Ubayy ibn Ka'b رضي الله عنه
Leader of the Night Prayer
Ubayy was one of the few Companions who had gathered the Qur'an in the Prophet's lifetime (Sahih al-Bukhari 5003). 'Umar later said of him, "Ubayy is the best reciter among us," while adding with a smile that people leave aside some of what he said, since Ubayy would not give up anything he heard from the Prophet ﷺ even when it was abrogated (Sahih al-Bukhari 4481).
In Ramadan, 'Umar saw people praying the night prayer in scattered groups in the mosque. He decided it would be better to gather them behind one reciter, and he chose Ubayy ibn Ka'b to lead them (Sahih al-Bukhari 2010). The gathered night prayer of Ramadan in congregation, still prayed today, took shape in this way.
Ubayy died in Madinah in the caliphate of 'Umar or of 'Uthman; the sources differ on the year, with figures from 19 to 35 AH given. Whenever it was, a generation of reciters had learned from him, and Ibn 'Abbas, among others, narrated from him.
A person who holds faithfully to what he received becomes a trusted reference for the whole community, even when he is corrected on details.
Whom do you trust to lead you in prayer, and what makes them trustworthy?
- Sahih al-Bukhari 5003 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 4481 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 2010 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Ibn Hajar, al-IsabahHistorical report
- al-Dhahabi, Siyar A'lam al-Nubala'Historical report
What the hadith grades mean
- Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
- Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
- Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
- Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
- Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
- The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
- Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
- Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.
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