The Sufficient (Vol 5) · Hadith 75 (#Ḥadīth #1)

1- مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عِيسَى عَنْ مِهْرَانَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ أَبِي نَصْرٍ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللهِ يَقُولُ خَيْرُ الرُّفَقَاءِ أَرْبَعَةٌ وَخَيْرُ السَّرَايَا أَرْبَعُمِائَةٍ وَخَيْرُ الْعَسَاكِرِ أَرْبَعَةُ آلافٍ وَلا يُغْلَبُ عَشْرُ آلافٍ مِنْ قِلَّةٍ.

1. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from Mehran ibn Muhammad from ‘Amr ibn abu Nasr who has said the following: “I heard abu ‘ Abd Allah , saying, ‘The best company is that which has four members. The best group for armed expeditions is that which consists of four hundred people. The best army is that which consists of four thousand soldiers. Any army that consists of ten thousand soldiers does not lose the fight because of its number (is not) small of soldiers.”

Gradings are classical jarḥ-wa-taʿdīl, name-matched to a rijāl index (not individually re-verified).