Sahih Muslim 468
صحيح مسلم#468Sahihحَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ نُمَيْرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، حَدَّثَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ عُثْمَانَ، حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ طَلْحَةَ، حَدَّثَنِي عُثْمَانُ بْنُ أَبِي الْعَاصِ الثَّقَفِيُّ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ لَهُ " أُمَّ قَوْمَكَ " . قَالَ قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنِّي أَجِدُ فِي نَفْسِي شَيْئًا . قَالَ " ادْنُهْ " . فَجَلَّسَنِي بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ ثُمَّ وَضَعَ كَفَّهُ فِي صَدْرِي بَيْنَ ثَدْيَىَّ ثُمَّ قَالَ " تَحَوَّلْ " . فَوَضَعَهَا فِي ظَهْرِي بَيْنَ كَتِفَىَّ ثُمَّ قَالَ " أُمَّ قَوْمَكَ فَمَنْ أَمَّ قَوْمًا فَلْيُخَفِّفْ فَإِنَّ فِيهِمُ الْكَبِيرَ وَإِنَّ فِيهِمُ الْمَرِيضَ وَإِنَّ فِيهِمُ الضَّعِيفَ وَإِنَّ فِيهِمْ ذَا الْحَاجَةِ وَإِذَا صَلَّى أَحَدُكُمْ وَحْدَهُ فَلْيُصَلِّ كَيْفَ شَاءَ " .
Uthman b. Abu'l-'As at-Thaqafi reported:The Apostle of Allah (ﷺ) said to him: Lead your people in prayer. I said: Messenger of Allah. I perceive something (disturbing) in my soul. He (the Holy Prophet) asked me to draw near him and making me sit down in front of him he placed his hand on my breast between my nipples. and then, telling me to turn round, he placed it on my back between my shoulders. He then said: Act as an Imam for your people. He who acts as Imam of the people, he must be brief, for among them are the aged, among them are the sick, among them are the weak, and among them are the people who have business to attend. But when any of you prays alone, he may pray as he likes
Scholarly Authentication
The label above is the grade most of these scholars gave, each scholar counted once — one dissenting opinion no longer speaks for all of them. If any scholar calls a narration fabricated, that verdict is shown instead, whatever the others say. When they judged only its chain of narrators (“Isnaad”), the label says “Sound chain”. Each scholar's own wording:
Every narration in Sahih Muslim is accepted as Sahih (authentic) by the established status of the book.
Sahih Muslim 468 is the standard (Abd al-Baqi) number; this narration is #1050 in the MuslimGPT index.
In-book reference: 4:212