ʿAmīrah: he heard the Prophet ﷺ mention Muʿāwiyah, whereupon the Prophet said, “O Allah, make him a guide who is himself rightly guided, and guide others through him.”
This, then, is the hidden flaw in the preceding ḥadith. (1)
With this same chain, Abū Zurʿah and Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā related to us; they said: Abū Mushir narrated to us; Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz narrated to us, from Rabīʿah ibn Yazīd, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī ʿAmīrah al-Muzanī—who was one of the Prophet’s Companions—that the Prophet ﷺ said to Muʿāwiyah, “O Allah, teach him the Book and arithmetic, and protect him from punishment.” (2)
Al-Walīd ibn Muslim, Abū Mushir, Shabāb, Ibn Saʿd, and Aḥmad stated that he died in 167 AH. Any report that he died in 63 or 64 AH is erroneous and unfounded; so declared Ibn ʿAsākir.
6 – Zufar ibn al-Hudhayl ibn Qays ibn Salm al-ʿAnbarī, Abū al-Hudhayl—the jurist, independent mujtahid, devout scholar, and eminent authority, Abū al-Hudhayl son of al-Hudhayl ibn Qays ibn Salm.
(1) The point is that the chain is internally inconsistent (idtirab): al-Walid ibn Muslim transmits it from Saʿid ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAziz with a different teacher than the one given by Abu Mushir. In al-Walid’s version Saʿid’s teacher is Yunus ibn Maysarah, whereas in Abu Mushir’s version his teacher is Rabiʿah ibn Yazid.
(2) Al-Tabarani also cited the report, according to what Ibn Hajar records in al-Isabah, with the chain Saʿid ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAziz – Rabiʿah ibn Yazid – ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Abi ʿUmayrah al-Muzani. Ahmad (4/127) related it through ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi – Muʿawiyah ibn Salih – Yunus ibn Sayf – al-Harith ibn Ziyad – Abu Ruhm – al-ʿIrbad ibn Sariyah, who said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah invite us to partake of suhur during Ramadan: ‘Come to the blessed meal.’ I then heard him supplicate: ‘O Allah, teach Muʿawiyah the Book and arithmetic, and protect him from punishment.’” Al-Harith ibn Ziyad is judged weak in hadith, while the remaining transmitters are trustworthy.
(*) Ibn Saʿd, al-Tabaqat al-kubra, 6/387–388; Ibn Qutaybah, al-Maʿarif, p. 496; Ibn Abi Hatim, al-Jarh wa-l-taʿdil, 3/608; Ibn Hibban, Mashahir ʿulamaʾ al-amsar, p. 170; Ibn al-Nadim, al-Fihrist, 1/204; Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Intiqaʾ, p. 173; al-Shirazi, Tabaqat al-fuqahaʾ, p. 40; Ibn Khallikan, Wafayat al-aʿyan, 2/317–319; al-Dhahabi, al-ʿIbar, 1/229; Ibn Hajar, Lisan al-mizan, 2/476–478; Ibn Abi Wafaʾ, al-Jawahir al-mudiʾah, 1/243 and 2/534; Ibn al-ʿImad, Shadharat al-dhahab, 1/243; Abu Nuʿaym, Tarikh Isfahan, 1/317; al-Lakhnawi, al-Fawaʾid al-bahiyyah, p. 75; Ibn Maʿin, al-Tarikh, 2/172.