It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Learn the Qur'an from these four people: from Abdullah bin Mas'ud, from Mu'adh, from Ubayy (bin Ka'b), and from Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

Muhammad bin Umar narrates from his teachers that Salim (may Allah be pleased with him), the freed slave of Sayyiduna Abu Hudhayfah, was originally the slave of an Ansari woman, Thubaytah bint Ya'ar, who was married to Abu Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him). Abu Hudhayfah adopted him, and so he used to be called Salim bin Abi Hudhayfah. But when this verse of the Qur'an was revealed: "Call them by (the names of) their (real) fathers" [Surah al-Ahzab: 5] , he came to be called Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah. He was martyred in the Battle of Yamamah in the year 12 AH, and on the battlefield his head was found at the feet of Abu Hudhayfah, or the feet of Abu Hudhayfah at his head. Musa bin Uqbah says that his real name was Salim bin Ma'qil and that he was from Istakhr (in Persia).

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that one night I was late in coming to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) after the Isha prayer. When I came, he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked me: "Where were you?" I said: I was listening in the mosque to the recitation of a man from among your Companions; I have not heard a melodious voice and recitation like his from anyone else among your Companions. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up, and I went along with him, until he listened to his recitation. Then he turned to me and said: "This is Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah. Praise be to Allah, who has brought forth in my Ummah a person of such excellence as him." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs, but they did not record it with these words. However, they both agreed on recording the narration of Ubaydullah from Nafi' from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that when the Muhajirun came from Makkah to Madinah, Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah, used to lead them in prayer, because he had the most knowledge of the Qur'an among them.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the wife of Sayyiduna Abu Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah, came in to her freely (in his status as an adopted son) (while he had reached adulthood). So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: "Breastfeed him." So she breastfed him after Salim had taken part in the Battle of Badr (so that the prohibition of fosterage would be established), and thereafter he used to come in to her without hesitation. This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Urwah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) that Umm Salim al-Ansariyyah, the mistress of Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah, freed Salim purely for the pleasure of Allah (so that she would retain no right of inheritance over him). Then, when he was martyred in the Battle of Yamamah, he left a weapon and a horse as his estate. Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) sent a message to that woman: Take this estate, for you are the most entitled of people to it. She replied: I have no need of it; I left him for Allah at the very time I freed him. So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) took those belongings and dedicated them to the path of Allah (for the fighters).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: When Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah, was martyred (in the Battle of Yamamah), the Companions said: Today a quarter of the knowledge of the Qur'an has departed. This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that in a gathering he said to his companions: Let each of you state your wishes. Someone said: I wish that this house were filled with gold which I could spend in the path of Allah. He said again: Make a wish. Then another man said: I wish that this house were filled with pearls, chrysolite and jewels, and that I could give them in charity and alms in the path of Allah. Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Make another wish. They said: O Commander of the Believers! Now we do not know what to wish for. Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: My wish is that this house were filled with (sincere and capable) men like Abu Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah, Mu'adh bin Jabal, Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah, and Hudhayfah bin al-Yaman (so that I could take great service for the religion from them). Mention of the virtues of Zayd bin al-Khattab bin Nufayl (may Allah be pleased with him), the brother of Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), whose kunyah was Abu Abd al-Rahman. He was older than his brother Umar and accepted Islam before him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) established brotherhood between him and Ma'n bin Adi, and both of them were martyred together in the Battle of Yamamah.

Al-Jahhaf bin Abd al-Rahman, who is among the descendants of Zayd bin al-Khattab, narrates from his father that on the day of Yamamah, Sayyiduna Zayd bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) was carrying the banner of the Muslims. At that time the Muslims had lost their footing, until the people of Banu Hanifah gained the upper hand. Then Zayd bin al-Khattab began to call out: "As for the brave, no brave one (who stands firm) remains; as for the men, no man remains." Then he called out at the top of his voice: "O Allah! I apologise to You for the flight of my companions, and I declare my innocence before You of what Musaylimah and Muhakkam bin al-Tufayl have brought (of sedition and disbelief)." Then he plunged with the banner into the heart of the enemy and kept fighting with his sword until he was martyred; may Allah have mercy on him. When the banner fell, Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah, took hold of it. The Muslims said: O Salim! Should we fear that (defeat) will come from your side? He replied: "What a bad bearer of the Qur'an I would be if you were attacked (by the enemy) from my side (that is, if I proved weak)!" Sayyiduna Zayd bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred in the year 12 AH.

It is narrated from Abd al-Malik bin Nawfal bin Musahiq that during the battle against Musaylimah, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) was part of a group of five companions, all of whom except him were martyred; among them Sayyiduna Zayd bin al-Khattab, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Makhramah and two others were martyred.

It is narrated from Umar bin Abd al-Rahman bin Zayd bin al-Khattab that whenever any calamity befell Sayyiduna Umar al-Faruq (may Allah be pleased with him), he would say: "I was afflicted by (the martyrdom of) Zayd bin al-Khattab, and I bore it with patience." Once Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) saw the killer of his brother Zayd and said to him: "Woe to you! You have martyred a brother of mine such that whenever the east wind (saba) blows, I am reminded of him." Mention of the virtues of Ukkashah bin Mihsan bin Qays bin Murrah bin Kathir (may Allah be pleased with him), who took part in Badr, Uhud, al-Khandaq and all the battles with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and whose kunyah was Abu Mihsan.