It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Usayd bin Hudayr and Abbad bin Bishr (may Allah be pleased with them both) were with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on an extremely dark night. When they left, the staff of one of them lit up, and the two of them walked in its light. Then, when the two of them parted from each other, the staff of the other also lit up. This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Layla narrates from his father that Sayyiduna Usayd bin Hudayr (may Allah be pleased with him) was a cheerful and good-humoured man. Once, while he was talking with the people who were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and making them laugh, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) poked him (in jest) in his side. Usayd said: "You have hurt me." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Take your retaliation then." He said: "O Messenger of Allah! You are wearing a shirt, whereas I had no shirt on my body (when you poked me)." The narrator said: So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) lifted his blessed shirt, whereupon Usayd (may Allah be pleased with him) embraced him (peace and blessings be upon him) and began kissing his (peace and blessings be upon him) sides, and then said: "O Messenger of Allah! May my father and mother be ransomed for you, this is all I wanted." These are the words of the narration of Jarir from Husayn, whereas the hadith of Warqa' is abridged. This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What an excellent man Usayd bin Hudayr is!" This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Usayd bin Hudayr (may Allah be pleased with him) that he was one who sighed much (tender-hearted), and he used to lead us in prayer. Once he fell ill and led the prayer sitting. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to visit him, and the people said: O Messenger of Allah! Usayd is our imam; he is ill, and he has led us in prayer sitting. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You too pray behind him sitting, for the imam is appointed only to be followed; so when he prays sitting, you too pray behind him sitting." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: We were returning from a journey, and at Dhu al-Hulayfah the people came out to receive us. The boys of the Ansar used to come out to receive people. They met Usayd bin Hudayr and informed him of the death of his wife. On hearing this, Usayd covered his head and began to weep. Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: I said to him: "Subhan Allah! You are an eminent Companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and you have precedence in Islam; are you weeping over a woman?" So he uncovered his head and said: "You have spoken the truth. By Allah, after the death of Sa'd bin Mu'adh it is now my due that I should weep for no one else, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said about him what he said." I asked him: What did he (peace and blessings be upon him) say? He said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, the Throne (of Allah) shook at the death of Sa'd bin Mu'adh." Aishah said that at the time of this conversation Usayd bin Hudayr was walking between her and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it. Mention of the virtues of Iyad bin Ghanm al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him).

Mus'ab bin Abdullah al-Zubayri narrates that Iyad bin Ghanm bin Zuhayr was one of the nobles of Quraysh. Ibn Qays al-Ruqayyat composed these verses about him: "Our Iyad bin Ghanm proved to be the shelter of the religion when loyalty was cherished." He was the first person to cross the mountain pass (route) leading to the Romans.

Muhammad bin Umar al-Waqidi narrates from his shaykhs that Iyad bin Ghanm bin Zuhayr bin Abi Shaddad bin Rabi'ah bin Hilal bin Uhayb bin Dabbah bin al-Harith bin Fihr accepted Islam before the Truce of al-Hudaybiyah and was present at al-Hudaybiyah with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Umm al-Hakam, the daughter of Abu Sufyan bin Harb, was married to him. When death approached Sayyiduna Abu Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him), he appointed Iyad as his deputy. Iyad was an extremely righteous man. When the news of Abu Ubaydah's death reached Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), he recited the istirja' (Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un) abundantly and said: "No one else can fill your place." Then he asked whom Abu Ubaydah had made his deputy. He was told: Iyad bin Ghanm. So Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) confirmed him and wrote: "I have appointed you governor over the regions of which Abu Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah was governor, so do what is rightful in the sight of Allah." So Iyad died in such a state that he had no wealth, nor did he owe anyone a debt. He died in al-Sham in the year 20 AH, and at that time he was sixty years old.

Khalifah bin Khayyat narrates that Iyad bin Ghanm (may Allah be pleased with him) died in the year 20 AH.

It is narrated from Jubayr bin Nufayr that when (the city of) Dara was conquered, Sayyiduna Iyad bin Ghanm al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) dealt harshly with its ruler (or punished him). Sayyiduna Hisham bin Hakim (may Allah be pleased with him) came to him and spoke to him severely. Then, after some days had passed, Hisham came to him to apologise. Hisham said to him: Do you not know that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "On the Day of Resurrection, the most severely punished of people will be the one who causes people the most suffering in this world"? Iyad replied: O Hisham! We too have heard what you heard, seen what you saw, and kept the company of the one whose company you kept (that is, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)). O Hisham! Did you not hear the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever has advice for a person in authority (sultan) should not express it publicly; rather, he should take him by the hand and take him aside in private. Then, if he (the ruler) accepts the advice, well and good; otherwise, he has fulfilled the duty that was upon him." O Hisham! You are indeed bold against the authority appointed by Allah; do you not fear that the authority of Allah may kill you, and you would be called one slain by the authority of Allah? This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

Jubayr bin Nufayr narrates from Sayyiduna Iyad bin Ghanm (may Allah be pleased with him) that one day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: "O Iyad! Do not marry an old or a barren woman, for (on the Day of Resurrection) I will take pride in your great numbers (over the other nations)." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it. Mention of the virtues of Sayyiduna al-Bara' bin Malik al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) (the brother of Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik).