We lived at a watering place where travelers used to pass by us on their way to the Prophet ﷺ. When they returned, they would pass by us again and tell us that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had said such and such. I was a boy with a sharp memory, so I memorized a great deal of the Quran in this way.My father set out as a delegate to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ along with a group from his people, and the Messenger taught them the prayer. He said, "The one who has memorized the most of the Quran among you should lead you in prayer."I had memorized more than any of them, so they put me forward and I led them in prayer. I was wearing a small yellow cloak of mine, and whenever I prostrated, it would ride up and expose me. One of the women said, "Cover the private parts of your reciter from us!" So they bought me a shirt from Oman, and I never rejoiced over anything after embracing Islam as much as I rejoiced over that shirt.I used to lead them in prayer when I was seven or eight years old.
حدثنا موسى بن إسمعيل حدثنا حماد أخبرنا أيوب
كنا بحاضر يمر بنا الناس إذا أتوا النبي ﷺ فكانوا إذا رجعوا مروا بنا فأخبرونا أن رسول الله ﷺ قال كذا وكذا وكنت غلاما حافظا فحفظت من ذلك قرآنا كثيرا فانطلق أبي وافدا إلى رسول الله ﷺ في نفر من قومه فعلمهم الصلاة فقال يؤمكم أقرؤكم وكنت أقرأهم لما كنت أحفظ فقدموني فكنت أؤمهم وعلي بردة لي صغيرة صفراء فكنت إذا سجدت تكشفت عني فقالت امرأة من النساء واروا عنا عورة قارئكم فاشتروا لي قميصا عمانيا فما فرحت بشيء بعد الإسلام فرحي به فكنت أؤمهم وأنا ابن سبع سنين أو ثمان سنين
No references are available.
Bukhari narrated it in Al-Maghazi, chapter (54) after the chapter on the Prophet's ﷺ stay in Makkah at the time of the conquest, hadith no. 4302, from the hadith of Ayub Sakhtiyani, through this same chain.