Ishāq al-Asadī informed us; Ibn Khalīl (1) informed us; al-Labbān informed us; al-Ḥaddād informed us; Abū Nuʿaym informed us; Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn al-Haytham narrated to us; Ibn Abī al-ʿAwwām narrated to us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Bakr narrated to us; Ḥātim ibn Abī Ṣaghīrah narrated to us, from ʿAmr ibn Dīnār, who said that Kurayb told him, from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said:
“I performed the night prayer behind the Prophet ﷺ toward the end of the night. He placed me level with him, and when he finished I said, ‘Is it proper for anyone to stand side-by-side with you while you are the Messenger of Allah?’ So he supplicated Allah to grant me greater understanding and knowledge. (2)”
Ḥātim ibn Abī Ṣaghīrah also transmitted—from ʿAmr ibn Dīnār, from Kurayb, from Ibn ʿAbbās—that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed for him, asking Allah to increase him in insight and knowledge. (3)
Waraqāʾ (4) said: “I heard ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Abī Yazīd relate—from Ibn ʿAbbās—‘I placed…’”
In al-Hilya 1/324 the report appears with a different chain and the wording “Surat al-Baqara.” It also adds that he was present at the pilgrimage season in the year 35 AH; Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) had sent him when he was under siege.
(1) In the printed edition the name has been mistakenly rendered as “Khalid.”
(2) The narration is likewise found in al-Hilya 1/314–315, and with a similar wording in Ahmad 1/330 and in Yaqub al-Fasawi’s Tarikh 1/518, through the isnad of Abdullah ibn Bakr from Hatim ibn Abi Saghira.
(3) Al-Baladhuri records it in Ansab al-Ashraf 3/29 via Abdullah ibn Abi Shayba—“Abdullah ibn Bakr al-Sahmi narrated to us …”—with this same chain.
(4) The transmitter is Warqa ibn Umar al-Yashkuri, Abu Bishr al-Kufi; al-Hafiz states in al-Taqrib that he is trustworthy (saduq).
The editor of the printed text committed an amusing error, supposing that “Warqa” belonged to the previous report, inserting it there and corrupting it to “Warzaqa.”
The hadith is related by al-Bukhari in his Sahih 1/214, Book of Ablutions, chapter “Placing water near the lavatory,” through Abdullah ibn Muhammad, who said: Hisham ibn al-Qasim told us, Warqa told us, from Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Yazid …; it does not contain the phrase “and teach him the interpretation.” Muslim (2477) also transmits it via Warqa with the wording, “O Allah, grant him understanding.” Al-Bukhari further reports it 1/155 in the Book of Knowledge and 13/208 in al-Iʿtisam, through Khalid ibn Mihran al-Hadda, from Ikrima, from Ibn Abbas, with the wording, “O Allah, teach him the Book,” and again 7/78 in the Book of Virtues with the wording, “O Allah, teach him wisdom.”