Benefits & Rulings:

➊ This hadith reflects the commitment of the noble companions (may Allah be pleased with them) to practicing upon the sayings of the Prophet ﷺ and avoiding innovations. They would strive to follow the prophetic instructions word for word. They would neither fall short in their practice nor add anything from themselves by attempting to go beyond the Prophet ﷺ. This is because the Holy Qur'an has prohibited such actions. Allah Almighty says:

﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُقَدِّمُوا بَيْنَ يَدَيِ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ﴾ (Al-Hujurat: 1)

"O you who believe! Do not put yourselves forward before Allah and His Messenger."

➋ This hadith also conveys that Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with both of them) used to narrate the exact words of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ without any alteration. Although narrating the hadith by meaning is permissible, the scholars of hadith considered verbatim transmission (word-for-word narration) to be superior.