It is narrated from Imam al-Hasan al-Basri that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There is none among my Companions except that, if I wished, I could (find fault or comment) on some aspect of his character, except Abu Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah." This narration is mursal and gharib, but its narrators are trustworthy.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), when dispatching Abu Ubaydah (may Allah be pleased with him) to Syria, said: "I want you to know the honour and rank that you hold in my heart. By the One in whose hand is my soul, there is no man on the face of the earth, among the Muhajirun or anyone else, whom I would regard as your equal, not even this one (Umar); his rank with me is less than yours."

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) states that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) told me: "On the day of Uhud, I was among the first to return to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). I saw that in front of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) there was a man fighting on his (peace and blessings be upon him) behalf and protecting him. I said to myself: 'Would that it be Talhah,' since the opportunity that should have been mine had already slipped from my hands. Between me and the east there was a man whom I could not recognise. I was nearer to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) than he was, but he was running so swiftly that I could not run like him. Then we both reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) together, and we saw that it was Abu Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to us: 'Attend to your companion (Talhah),' referring to Sayyiduna Talhah, who had lost a great deal of blood. But we did not turn to him; rather we went towards the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Abu Ubaydah demanded of me that he would pull out the iron rings, and he kept insisting until I let him. A ring of the helmet had sunk into the cheek of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he disliked moving it with his hand lest the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) be hurt. So he gripped the ring firmly with his front tooth, pulled it and drew it out, and in doing so his own front tooth came out from the root. Then he insisted with me again and would not leave me until I let him, so he laboured in the same way on the other ring, drew it out, and his other tooth also came out. Thus Abu Ubaydah's front teeth had fallen out." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Yazid bin Ruman that Sayyiduna Abu Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him) accepted Islam along with Uthman bin Maz'un, Abd al-Rahman bin Awf and their companions before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) entered the House of al-Arqam. Abu Ubaydah made the second emigration to the land of Abyssinia. He took part in the Battles of Badr and Uhud, and on the day of Uhud, when the people scattered, he stood firm with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He is the one who, in the presence of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), pulled out with his teeth the two rings of the helmet (iron cap) of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that had pierced his (peace and blessings be upon him) cheeks on the day of Uhud. The reason for this was that on that day he (peace and blessings be upon him) was struck on his blessed face, so that two rings of the helmet sank into his cheeks. While pulling out these rings, Abu Ubaydah's front teeth fell out, because of which he became 'athram' (one with broken teeth).

It is narrated from Abdullah bin Wahb that the engraving on the ring of Sayyiduna Abu Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him) was "al-Wafa'u aziz" (Loyalty is rare).

Silah bin Zufar narrates from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the two chiefs of Najran, al-Aqib and al-Sayyid, came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wanting to engage in mutual imprecation (mubahalah) with him. One of them said to his companion: "Do not do it, for by Allah, if he is a true prophet and he invokes a curse upon us, neither we nor our descendants after us will ever prosper." So the two of them said: "(Instead of mubahalah) we will give you the wealth that you ask for; send with us a man who is truly trustworthy." The narrator says: Hearing this, the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) began to hope for this honour. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Stand up, O Abu Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah." Then, when he was about to depart, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This is the trustee of this Ummah." The two Shaykhs agreed on recording this hadith in abridged form through the narration of Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him), whereas Isra'il, differing from al-Thawri and Shu'bah, narrated it via Silah from Ibn Mas'ud, and its wording is more complete than the other chains. Therefore I have recorded it, because it is sahih (authentic) on the condition of both of them.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the people of Yemen came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "Send with us a man who will teach us the Qur'an." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) took Abu Ubaydah by the hand, sent him with them and said: "This is the trustee of this Ummah." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs did not record it with the mention of the Qur'an.

It is narrated from Abu al-Bakhtari that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna Abu Ubaydah: "Come, let me pledge allegiance to you, for I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'You are indeed the trustee of this Ummah.'" Abu Ubaydah replied: "How can I stand in front of (as imam) a man whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded to lead us in prayer until his passing away?" The chain of this hadith is sahih (authentic), but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

Thabit bin al-Hajjaj states: It reached me that Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "If I had found Abu Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah (alive at the time of my death), I would have appointed him as my successor without consulting (anyone). And if I were asked about him, I would say: I appointed as successor the trustee of Allah and the trustee of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What an excellent man Abu Bakr is! What an excellent man Umar is! What an excellent man Abu Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah is! What an excellent man Usayd bin Hudayr is! What an excellent man Thabit bin Qays is! What an excellent man Mu'adh bin Jabal is! And what an excellent man Mu'adh bin Amr bin al-Jamuh is!" This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.