Sahih al-Bukhari

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, " Every nation has an extremely trustworthy man, and the trustworthy man of this (i.e. Muslim) nation is Abu 'Ubaida bin Al-Jarrah."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said to the people of Nijran, "I will send you the most trustworthy man." (Every one of) the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) was looking forward (to be that person). He then sent Abu 'Ubaida.

I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) talking at the pulpit while Al-Hasan was sitting beside him, and he (i.e. the Prophet ) was once looking at the people and at another time Al-Hasan, and saying, "This son of mine is a Saiyid (i.e. chief) and perhaps Allah will bring about an agreement between two sects of the Muslims through him."

That the Prophet (ﷺ) used to take him and Al-Hasan, and used to say, "O Allah! I love them, so please love them," or said something similar.

Anas bin Malik said, "The head of Al-Husain was brought to 'Ubaidullah bin Ziyad and was put in a tray, and then Ibn Ziyad started playing with a stick at the nose and mouth of Al-Husain's head and saying something about his handsome features." Anas then said (to him), "Al-Husain resembled the Prophet more than the others did." Anas added, "His (i.e. Al-Husain's) hair was dyed with Wasma (i.e. a kind of plant used as a dye).

I saw the Prophet (ﷺ) carrying Al-Hasan on his shoulder an saying, "O Allah! I love him, so please love him."

I saw Abu Bakr carrying Al-Hasan and saying, "Let my father be sacrificed for you; you resemble the Prophet and not `Ali," while `Ali was laughing at this.

Abu Bakr used to say, "Look after Muhammad (ﷺ) in (looking after) his family."

None resembled the Prophet (ﷺ) more than Al-Hasan bin `Ali did.

A person asked `Abdullah bin `Umar whether a Muslim could kill flies. I heard him saying (in reply). "The people of Iraq are asking about the killing of flies while they themselves murdered the son of the daughter of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) . The Prophet (ﷺ) said, They (i.e. Hasan and Husain) are my two sweet basils in this world."

`Umar used to say, "Abu Bakr is our chief, and he manumitted our chief," meaning Bilal.

Bilal said to Abu Bakr, "If you have bought me for yourself then keep me (for yourself), but if you have bought me for Allah's Sake, then leave me for Allah's Work."

Once the Prophet (ﷺ) embraced me (pressed me to his chest) and said, "O Allah, teach him wisdom (i.e. the understanding of the knowledge of Qur'an).

The same but said, "O Allah, teach him (Ibn Abbas) the Book (i.e. the understanding of the knowledge of Qur'an)." Narrated Khalid: As above.

The Prophet (ﷺ) had informed the people about the death of Zaid, Ja`far and Ibn Rawaha before the news of their death reached them. He said with his eyes flowing with tears, "Zaid took the flag and was martyred; then Ja`far took the flag and was martyred, and then Ibn Rawaha took the flag and was martyred. Finally the flag was taken by one of Allah's Swords (i.e. Khalid bin Al-Walid) and Allah gave them (i.e. the Muslims) victory."

`Abdullah (bin Mas`ud) was mentioned before `Abdullah bin `Amr. The latter said, "That is a man I continue to love because I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saying, ' Learn the recitation of the Qur'an from (any of these) four persons: `Abdullah bin Masud, Salim the freed slave of Abu Hudhaifa, Ubai bin Ka`b, and Mu`adh bin Jabal." I do not remember whether he mentioned Ubai first or Mu`adh.

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) neither talked in an insulting manner nor did he ever speak evil intentionally. He used to say, "The most beloved to me amongst you is the one who has the best character and manners." He added, " Learn the Qur'an from (any of these) four persons. `Abdullah bin Mas`ud, Salim the freed slave of Abu Hudhaifa, Ubai bin Ka`b, and Mu`adh bin Jabal."

I went to Sham and was offering a two-rak`at prayer; I said, "O Allah! Bless me with a (pious) companion." Then I saw an old man coming towards me, and when he came near I said, (to myself), "I hope Allah has given me my request." The man asked (me), "Where are you from?" I replied, "I am from the people of Kufa." He said, "Weren't there amongst you the Carrier of the (Prophet's) shoes, Siwak and the ablution water container? Weren't there amongst you the man who was given Allah's Refuge from the Satan? And weren't there amongst you the man who used to keep the (Prophet's) secrets which nobody else knew? How did Ibn Um `Abd (i.e. `Abdullah bin Mas`ud) use to recite Surat-al-lail (the Night:92)?" I recited:-- "By the Night as it envelops By the Day as it appears in brightness. And by male and female." (92.1- 3) On that, Abu Darda said, "By Allah, the Prophet (ﷺ) made me read the Verse in this way after listening to him, but these people (of Sham) tried their best to let me say something different."

We asked Hudhaifa to tell us of a person resembling (to some extent) the Prophet (ﷺ) in good appearance and straight forward behavior so that we may learn from him (good manners and acceptable conduct). Hudhaifa replied, "I do not know anybody resembling the Prophet (to some extent) in appearance and conduct more than Ibn Um `Abd.

My brother and I came from Yemen, and for some time we continued to consider `Abdullah bin Mas`ud as one of the members of the family of the Prophet (ﷺ) because we used to see him and his mother going in the house of the Prophet (ﷺ) very often.