Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The most merciful of my Ummah towards my Ummah is Abu Bakr; the most strict regarding the religion among the Ummah is Umar; the most modest among the Ummah is Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him); Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) has the most knowledge regarding what is lawful and unlawful; the greatest and most proficient reciter of the Qur'an is Ubayy bin Ka'b; and the greatest scholar of inheritance (or obligatory shares) among the Ummah is Zayd bin Thabit. And in every Ummah there is a trustworthy one, and the trustworthy one of this Ummah is Abu Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah.

It is narrated from Yazid bin Umairah that when the time of death approached for Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him), he was told: O Abu Abdur Rahman! At least give us some advice. He said: Make me sit up. Then he said: Knowledge and faith are such things that whoever tries to acquire them from their source and place, he will surely acquire them. He said this three times. Acquire knowledge from four men: Sayyiduna Abu Darda’ Uwaymir, Sayyiduna Salman al-Farsi, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud, and Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam—the latter was formerly a Jew, then he accepted Islam. I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say that he will be among the special ten people who will enter Paradise.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: We were sitting in the service of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I do not know how long I will remain among you. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) pointed towards Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) and said: After me, follow these two, hold firmly to the era of Ammar, and affirm whatever Abdullah bin Mas'ud tells you.