حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عَوَانَةَ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي نَضْرَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم
" إِذَا كَانُوا ثَلاَثَةً فَلْيَؤُمَّهُمْ أَحَدُهُمْ وَأَحَقُّهُمْ بِالإِمَامَةِ أَقْرَؤُهُمْ " .
When there are three persons, one of them should lead them. The one among them most worthy to act as Imam is one who is best versed in the Qur'an.
Source: Sahih Muslim — repository translation · Imam Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Naysaburi — authenticity/grade metadata requires independent source review · Sunnah.comAudio not available for the selected reciter.
Source: Sahih Muslim — repository arabic · Imam Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Naysaburi · Sunnah.com