Ahmad said, “I have been away from you for seventeen years, so furnish us with one hadith for every year.”
Some of them suggested, “The hadith narrated by Shuʿbah, from Ḥabīb, from Ḥafṣ ibn ʿĀṣim, from Abū Saʿīd, traced back to the Prophet: ‘Seven persons will be shaded by Allah (1).’ ”
Abū Ahmad replied, “Ahmad ibn ʿUmayr related it to us; Ahmad ibn Mūsā related it to us; Muʿammal ibn Ismāʿīl related it to us, from Shuʿbah.”
The questioner said, “Transmit it from him through ʿAmr ibn Marzūq, with a higher chain.” They said to him, “O Abū Ahmad, you have never set foot in Egypt.” He answered, “Well, you have been there—tell me what I missed in Egypt.”
One of them proposed, “The hadith of al-Layth about the story of the cave (2).” He responded, “Ibn Dāwūd narrated it to us; ʿĪsā ibn Ḥammād reported it to us from him.”
Then Abū ʿAlī mentioned several hadiths he had gained; I, in turn, cited the hadith of al-Jassāsah (3) through Abū al-ʿUmays, from al-Shaʿbī. He said, “That one has eluded me.”
(1) The hadith “Seven persons whom Allah will shade…” is transmitted by Malik, 3/127 (ed. Suyuti), through Habib b. Abd al-Rahman al-Ansari – Hafs b. Asim – Abu Sa‘id (or Abu Hurayra). Through Malik the same chain is cited by Muslim (1031) and al-Tirmidhi (2391). Al-Bukhari records it 2/119, 124 (Congregational Prayer, ch. One who sits in the mosque awaiting the prayer); 3/232 (Zakat, ch. Giving charity with the right hand); 11/267 (Softening the Heart, ch. Weeping out of fear of Allah); and 12/100 (Punishment of Highwaymen, ch. The merit of avoiding immorality). Muslim (1031) places it in Zakat, ch. The virtue of concealing charity; and al-Nasa’i 8/222-223 relates it via Ubayd Allah – Habib b. Abd al-Rahman – Hafs b. Asim – Abu Hurayra alone. Ibn Hajar remarks in Fath al-Bari 2/119 that the transmitters from Ubayd Allah agree on this wording, whereas Malik’s recension in the Muwatta expresses doubt (“from Abu Sa‘id or Abu Hurayra”). Abu Qurra narrated it from Malik with the conjunction “and,” attributing it to both Companions; Musab al-Zubayri followed him, a view unique among Malik’s pupils. The more convincing position is that of Ubayd Allah, for he voiced no uncertainty and reports solely from Khalid.
(2) The lengthy hadith on the Hijra, through al-Layth – Aqil – Ibn Shihab – Urwa b. al-Zubayr – Aisha, is found in al-Bukhari (476) Book of Mosques, ch. A mosque located on a road; (2264) Book of Hiring, ch. If one hires a laborer to work for him; and (3905) Merits of the Ansar, ch. The Prophet’s migration, peace be upon him, and that of his Companions to Madina.
(3) For the hadith of al-Jassasa see Sahih Muslim (2942) Book of Tribulations and the Portents of the Hour, and Musnad Ahmad 6/373.