(1) Sharik is generally reliable, yet his poor memory means that his reports are only acceptable as supporting evidence. In al-Bukhari’s version of the Night Journey (13/399–406), transmitted through Sharik, he alone mentions ten details that no other transmitter relates; they are counted among his mistakes: 1. The specific locations of the prophets in the heavens; 2. That the mi‘raj (ascension) occurred before the Prophet’s commissioning; 3. That it took place in a dream; 4. His divergence concerning the two rivers; 5. His divergence regarding the position of the lote-tree of the ultimate boundary (sidrat al-muntaha); 6. The rending of the chest during the Night Journey; 7. Mentioning the river al-Kawthar in the lowest heaven; 8. Ascribing “approach and descent” (dunuw wa-tadalli) to God Most High; 9. Stating explicitly that the Prophet, peace be upon him, ceased petitioning for a reduction of the prayers at the fifth request; 10. Saying: “He was taken up to the All-Compelling One, Who spoke while remaining in His own place.” ‘Abd al-Haqq al-Ishbili, in his concordance of the two Sahihs, remarks that Sharik inserted unknown additions and unfamiliar wording into the israa’ report; several master-hadith scholars have transmitted the narrative, yet none of them includes what Sharik alone mentions, and Sharik is not a memoriser (hafiz). Ibn Kathir likewise notes (Tafsir, 3/3) that Sharik b. ‘Abd Allah b. Abi Numayr was confused in this hadith, his memory failed, and he did not preserve it accurately. Al-Bayhaqi adds that Sharik’s wording supports the view of those who claim the Prophet, peace be upon him, saw his Lord, citing the phrase: “Then the All-Compelling, Lord of Might, drew near and descended until He was at a distance of two bow-lengths or nearer.” However, the interpretation of ‘Aisha, Ibn Mas‘ud and Abu Hurayra—who hold that these verses refer to the Prophet’s seeing Gabriel—is sounder. Ibn Kathir affirms Bayhaqi’s conclusion, for Abu Dharr reported: “O Messenger of Allah, did you see your Lord?” He replied, “There was light—how could I see Him?” (another wording: “I saw light”), recorded by Muslim (178). Consequently, the words “then he drew near and descended” relate to Gabriel, as authentically transmitted in both Sahihs from ‘Aisha and Ibn Mas‘ud, and in Sahih Muslim from Abu Hurayra, with no known dissenting interpretation among the Companions. *For Sharik’s biography, see Ibn ‘Asakir, Ta’rikh Dimashq.*