A man from the Ansar used to lead them in prayer at the mosque of Quba. Whenever he began a surah to recite for them in the prayer, he would start with "Say, He is Allah, the One" [Ikhlas 112:1] until he finished it, then he would recite another surah along with it, and he did this in every rakah.His companions spoke to him about it and said, "You recite this surah, then you do not consider it sufficient until you recite another surah with it. Either recite it alone, or leave it and recite a different surah."He replied, "I will not leave it. If you want me to lead you in prayer with it, I will do so. If you dislike it, I will leave you."They considered him the best among them and disliked the idea of anyone else leading them. When the Prophet ﷺ came to them, they told him what had happened.He said, "So-and-so, what prevents you from doing what your companions ask, and what makes you recite this surah in every rakah?"The man replied, "Messenger of Allah, I love it."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Your love for it has admitted you to Paradise."
كان رجل من الأنصار يومهم في مسجد قباء. فكان كلما افتتح سورة يقرأ لهم في الصلاة فقرأ بها، افتتح ب{قل هو الله أحد} حتى يفرغ منها، ثم يقرأ بسورة أخرى معها، وكان يصنع ذلك في كل ركعة فكلمه أصحابه فقالوا: إنك تقرأ بهذه السورة، ثم لا ترى أنها تجزئك حتى تقرأ بسورة أخرى، فإما أن تقرأ بها، وإما أن تدعها وتقرأ بسورة أخرى، قال: ما أنا بتاركها، إن أحببتم أن أؤمكم بها فعلت، وإن كرهتم تركتكم. وكانوا يرونه أفضلهم، وكرهوا أن يؤمهم غيره، فلما أتاهم النبي ﷺ أخبروه الخبر. فقال: يا فلان ما يمنعك مما يأمر به أصحابك، وما يحملك أن تقرأ هذه السورة في كل ركعة؟ فقال: يا رسول الله! إني أحبها، فقال رسول الله ﷺ: إن حبها أدخلك الجنة.
Tirmidhi (2901) narrated it from Muhammad bin Ismail (Bukhari), who said, Ismail bin Abu Uways told us, Abdul-Aziz bin Muhammad told us, from Ubaydullah bin Umar, from Thabit Bunani, from Anas bin Malik, and he related the hadith. Tirmidhi said, this is a hasan gharib sahih hadith from this route, from the hadith of Ubaydullah bin Umar from Thabit. Mubarak bin Fadala also related it from Thabit, from Anas, that a man said, "O Messenger of Allah, I love this surah, "Say, He is Allah, One"." So he said, "Your love for it will bring you into Paradise." Tirmidhi said, Abu Dawud Sulayman bin Ashath told us this, saying, Abu Walid told us, Mubarak bin Fadala told us this. End of quote.Bukhari mentioned it in the chapter on the adhan (774) as a suspended narration from Ubaydullah bin Umar, from Thabit, from Anas. I say, this is the very chain that Tirmidhi connected from Bukhari, from Ismail bin Abu Uways, as mentioned above.Ibn Hajar transmitted in al-Fath that Daraqutni said in his Ilal that Hammad bin Salama differed from Ubaydullah in its chain, relating it from Thabit, from Habib bin Sabia, as a mursal narration, and said, this is closer to being correct. Ibn Hajar said, he gave it preference because Hammad bin Salama takes precedence in matters concerning Thabit's hadith. However, Ubaydullah bin Umar is a reliable authority whose testimony is accepted, and Mubarak agreed with him in his chain, so it is possible that Thabit had two teachers for this hadith. End of quote.I say, it is as he said. Furthermore, it is well known that when a chain differs between being connected (with the raising of the report to the Prophet) and being mursal, and the one who raises it is trustworthy, then his addition is accepted by the majority of scholars.Ibn Khuzayma also graded it sahih, including it in his Sahih (537) through the route of Abdul-Aziz bin Muhammad (Darawardi) with a similar wording. The hadith of Mubarak bin Fadala was narrated by Tirmidhi as mentioned above, and was also narrated by Darimi (3436) from Yazid bin Harun, from Mubarak bin Fadala, with a similar wording.