Hadith 840
Chapter 43: Congregation when there are three people - كتاب الإمامة
أَخْبَرَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عَوَانَةَ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي نَضْرَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِذَا كَانُوا ثَلاَثَةً فَلْيَؤُمَّهُمْ أَحَدُهُمْ وَأَحَقُّهُمْ بِالإِمَامَةِ أَقْرَؤُهُمْ " .
It was narrated that Abu Sa'eed said:
"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: 'If there are three people, let one of them lead the others in prayer, and the one who has the most right to lead the prayer is the one who recites (knows) the most (Qur'an)."'
Reference : Sunan an-Nasa'i 840
In-book reference : Book 10, Hadith 64