It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jubayr bin Mut'im (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying, while at the place of the Masjid of al-Khayf in Mina: "May Allah have mercy on the servant who heard my words, memorised them, and then conveyed them to those who did not hear them; for many a bearer of knowledge is not himself a man of understanding, and many a bearer of knowledge takes it to those who have more understanding than they. There are three things over which the heart of a believer does not bring in impurity (or dust): sincerity in deeds, sincere counsel to the rulers, and keeping with the community (jama'ah); for their call protects them from behind." In this chapter there are hadiths narrated from a group of the Companions, including Umar, Uthman, Ali, Ibn Mas'ud, Mu'adh bin Jabal, Ibn Umar, Ibn Abbas, Abu Hurayrah and Anas (may Allah be pleased with them), and the hadith of Nu'man bin Bashir meets the condition of the Sahih.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Nu'man bin Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) addressed us in a sermon and said: "May Allah keep fresh (and radiant) the face of a person who heard my words and carried them (to others); for many a bearer of knowledge is not himself a faqih, and many a bearer of knowledge carries it to those who have more understanding (fiqh) than they. There are three things over which the heart of a believer does not harbour rancour: making deeds purely for Allah, giving sincere counsel to the rulers, and holding fast to the community (jama'ah) of the Muslims." Imam Muslim, in his Sahih, used as evidence the narrations of Simak bin Harb from Nu'man bin Bashir; and Hatim bin Abi Saghirah and Abdullah bin Bakr al-Sahmi are among the narrators on whom there is agreement.

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) would say (on seeing students of hadith): "Welcome, in accordance with the instruction of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to instruct us regarding you." This hadith is sahih (authentic) and established, because the two Shaykhs agreed on using Sa'id bin Sulayman, Abbad bin al-Awwam and al-Jurayri as evidence; then Imam Muslim used the hadith of Abu Nadrah as evidence. I have counted eleven core narrations (usul) in his "al-Musnad al-Sahih" through al-Jurayri, yet they did not record this hadith, which is the first hadith on the virtue of the students of hadith, and no hidden defect ('illah) is known in it. This hadith has several chains which the scholars of hadith compile through Abu Harun al-Abdi from Abu Sa'id, and Abu Harun is among those about whom the imams remained silent.