Revering the Scholars and Elders, Preferring them to others and raising their Status

Abu Mas'ud 'Uqbah bin 'Amr Al-Badri Al-Ansari (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "The person who is best versed in the recitation of the Book of Allah, should lead the prayer; but if all those present are equally versed in it, then the one who has most knowledge of the Sunnah; if they are equal in that respect too, then the one who has emigrated (to Al-Madinah) first, if they are equal in this respect also, then the oldest of them. No man should lead another in prayer where the latter has authority, or sit in his house, without his permission".

[Muslim].

In another narration in Muslim: Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "One who is senior most in accepting Islam, should lead the Salat (prayer)".

Yet another narration is: Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "A man who is well versed in the Book of Allah and can recite it better, should lead the Salat (prayer), if (all those present) are equal in this respect, then the man who is senior most in respect of emigration, if they are equal in that respect too, then the oldest of them should lead the prayer".

[Muslim].

وعن أبي مسعود عقبة بن عمرو البدري الأنصاري رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله ﷺ : "يؤم القوم أقرؤهم لكتاب الله، فإن كانوا في القراءة سواء، فأعلمهم بالسنة، فإن كانوا في السنة سواء، فأقدمهم هجرة، فإن كانوا في الهجرة سواء، فأقدمهم سنًا، ولا يؤمن الرجل الرجل في سلطانه، ولا يقعد في بيته على تكرمته إلا بإذنه" ((رواه مسلم)). وفي رواية له: "فأقدمهم سلمًا" بدل "سنًا" : أو إسلامًا.وفي رواية: يؤم القوم أقرؤهم لكتاب الله، وأقدمهم قراءة، فإن كانت قراءتهم فيؤمهم أقدمهم هجرة، فإن كانوا في الهجرة سواء، فليؤمهم أكبرهم سنًا".

Abu Mas'ud Al-Ansari (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
Messenger of Allah ﷺ would place his hands upon our shoulders when we would form rows for As-Salat (the prayer) and say, "Stand in straight rows and do not differ among yourselves, or else your hearts will differ due to disaccord. Let those be nearest to me who are mature and endowed with understanding (of the religion), then those who are nearest to them in these respects and then those who are nearest to them".

[Muslim].

وعنه قال: كان رسول الله ﷺ يمسح مناكبنا في الصلاة ويقول: "استووا ولا تختلفوا، فتختلف قلوبكم، ليلني منكم أولو الأحلام والنهى، ثم الذين يلونهم" ((رواه مسلم)).

'Abdullah bin Mas'ud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Let those be nearest to me in Salat (prayer) who are mature and possess (religious) knowledge, then those who are nearest to them in these respects". He repeated this three times and then added, "Beware of indulging in the loose talks of the markets (when you are in the mosque)".

[Muslim].

وعن عبد الله بن مسعود رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله ﷺ: "ليلني منكم أولو الأحلام والنهى، ثم الذين يلونهم" ثلاثًا "وإياكم وهيشات الأسوق" ((رواه مسلم)).

Sahl bin Abu Hathmah Al-Ansari (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
'Abdullah bin Sahl and Muhaiyisah bin Mas'ud

وعن أبي يحيى وقيل: أبي محمد سهل بن أبي حَثْمة -بفتح الحاء المهملة وإسكان الثاء المثلثة -الأنصاري رضي الله عنه قال: انطلق عبد الله ابن سهل ومحيصة بن مسعود إلى خيبر وهي صلح، فتفرقا، فأتى محيصة إلى عبد الله بن سهل وهو يتشحط في دمه قتيلاً، فدفنه، ثم قدم المدينة فانطلق عبد الرحمن بن سهل ومحيصة وحويصة ابنا مسعود إلى النبي ﷺ، فذهب عبد الرحمن يتكلم فقال: " كبر كبر" وهو أحدث القوم، فسكت، فتكلما فقال: "أتحلفون وتستحقون قاتلكم؟ وذكر تمام الحديث. ((متفق عليه)) .

Jabir (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
After the battle of Uhud, the Prophet ﷺ arranged the burial of two of the martyrs in one grave. In each case he would ask, "Which one of them had learnt more Qur'an by heart?" Whichever was thus pointed out to him, was placed by him first in the Lahd.

[Al-Bukhari].

وعن جابر رضي الله عنه أن النبي ﷺ كان يجمع بين الرجلين من قتلى أحد يعني في القبر، ثم يقول: أيهما أكثر أخذًا للقرآن؟" فإذا أشير له إلى أحدهما قدمه في اللحد. ((رواه البخاري)).

'Abdullah bin 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with tehm) reported:
The Prophet ﷺ said, "It was shown to me in my dream that I was cleaning my teeth with a Miswak and two men came to me, one being older than the other. I gave the Miswak to the younger one, but I was asked to give it to the older, which I did".

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

وعن ابن عمر رضي الله عنهما أن النبي ﷺ قال: " أراني في المنام أتسوك بسواك، فجاءني رجلان، أحدهما أكبر من الآخر، فناولت السواك الأصغر، فقيل لي: كبر، فدفعته إلى الأكبر منهما" ((رواه مسلم والبخاري تعليقًا)).

Abu Musa (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "It is out of reverence to Allah in respecting an aged Muslim, and the one who commits the Qur'an to memory and does not exaggerate pronouncing its letters nor forgets it after memorizing, and to respect the just ruler".

[Abu Dawud]

وعن أبي موسى رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله ﷺ: "إن من إجلال الله تعالى إكرام ذي الشيبة المسلم، وحامل القرآن غير الغالي فيه، والجافي عنه وإكرام ذي السلطان المقسط" ((حديث حسن رواه أبو داود)).

'Amr bin Shu'aib (May Allah be pleased with him)on the authority of his father who heard it from his father reported:
Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "He is not one of us who shows no mercy to younger ones and does not acknowledge the honour due to our elders".

[At- Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud].

وعن عمرو بن شعيب، عن أبيه ، عن جده رضي الله عنهم قال: قال رسول الله ﷺ: "ليس منا من لم يرحم صغيرنا، ويعرف شرف كبيرنا" ((حديث صحيح رواه أبو داود والترمذي، وقال الترمذي: حديث حسن صحيح)).

Maimun bin Abu Shabib (May Allah had mercy upon him) reported:
A begger asked 'Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) for charity and she gave him a piece of bread. Thereafter, one well-dressed person asked her for charity and she invited him to sit down and served him food. When she was asked about the reason for the difference in treatment, she said: "Messenger of Allah ﷺ instructed us: 'Treat people according to their status".

[Abu Dawud].

وعن ميمون بن أبي شبيب رحمه الله أن عائشة رضي الله عنه الإمام مر بها سائل، فأعطته كسرة، ومر بها رجل عليه ثياب وهيئة، فأقعدته، فأكل فقيل لها في ذلك: ؟ فقالت: قال رسول الله ﷺ: "أنزلوا الناس منازلهم" ((رواه أبو داود)). لكن قال ميمون لم يدرك عائشة.

Ibn Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) reported:
'Uyainah bin Hisn came to Al-Madinah and stayed with his nephew Al-Hurr bin Qais who was among those who were close to 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) and had access to his council. The scholarly persons, whether they were old or young, had the privilege of joining his council and he used to consult them. 'Uyainah said to Al-Hurr: "My dear nephew, you have an access to the Leader of the Believers. Will you obtain permission for me to sit with him?" Al-Hurr asked 'Umar and he accorded permission. When 'Uyainah came into the presence of 'Umar, he addressed him thus: "O son of Al-Khattab, you neither bestow much on us nor deal with us justly." 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) got angry and was about to beat him when Al-Hurr said: "O Leader of the Believers, Allah has said to his Prophet ﷺ: 'Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the foolish (i.e., don't punish them), [i.e., 'Uyainah] (7:199). This is one of the ignorant ones." By Allah! When al-Hurr recited this, 'Umar became quite motionless in his seat. He always adhered strictly to the Book of Allah.

[Al-Bukhari].

وعن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما قال: قدم عيينة بن حصن، فنزل على ابن أخيه الحر بن قيس، وكان من النفر الذين يدنيهم عمر رضي الله عنه ، وكان القراء أصحاب مجلس عمر ومشاورته، كهولاً كانوا أو شبانًا ، فقال عيينة لابن أخيه: يا ابن أخي لك وجه عند هذا الأمير، فاستأذن لي عليه، فاستأذن له، فأذن له عمر رضي الله عنه ، فلما دخل: قال هي يا ابن الخطاب: فوالله ما تعطينا الجزل، ولا تحكم فينا بالعدل، فغضب عمر رضي الله عنه حتى هم أن يوقع به، فقال له الحر: يا أمير المؤمنين إن الله تعالى قال لنبيه ﷺ {خذ العفو وأمر بالعرف وأعرض عن الجاهلين} وإن هذا من الجاهلين. والله ما جاوزها عمر حين تلاها عليه، وكان وقافًا عند كتاب الله تعالى. ((رواه البخاري)).

Abu Sa'id Samurah bin Jundub (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
I was a boy during the lifetime of Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and used to commit to my memory what he said, but I do not narrate what I preserved because there were among us people who were older than me.

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

وعن أبي سعيد سمرة بن جندب رضي الله عنه قال: لقد كنت على عهد رسول الله ﷺ غلامًا ، فكنت أحفظ عنه، فما يمنعني من القول إلا أن ههنا رجالاً أسن مني. ((متفق عليه)) .