hadith has a sound chain of transmission, although al-Hasan never heard directly from Abu Hurayrah.
It was also recorded by al-Tirmidhi (1) through the route of al-Sawwaf, and our chain to it is even higher.
Abu ʿUmar al-Jarmi said, “I have never seen a jurist more eloquent than ʿAbd al-Wārith, except for Ḥammād ibn Salamah.”
Maḥmūd ibn Ghailān reported: Someone asked Abū Dāwud al-Tayālisī, “Why do you not relate ḥadith from ʿAbd al-Wārith?” He replied, “Shall I narrate to you from a man who used to claim that a single day of ʿAmr ibn ʿUbayd is greater than the entire lifetime of Ayyūb al-Sakhtiyānī, Yūnus, and Ibn ʿAwn?!”
Yaʿqūb al-Fasawī said: al-Ḥasan ibn al-Rabīʿ told us, “We would listen to ʿAbd al-Wārith, but when the prayer was called we would leave and never pray behind him.”
He also said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak was asked, “Why do you relate from ʿAbd al-Wārith yet avoid ʿAmr ibn ʿUbayd?” He answered, “Because ʿAmr was a dāʿiyah (2).”
ʿAlī said: I heard Yaḥyā al-Qaṭṭān, and it was mentioned to him that ʿAbd al-Wārith had said, “I asked Shuʿbah about joining the uprising with Ibrāhīm ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥasan (3), and he instructed me to do so.” Yaḥyā rejected this and said:
(1) No. 2375 in al-Zuhd. The compiler rates it a hasan gharib hadith through this chain, noting that a fuller and longer version also exists through Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah. I add: al-Bukhari records the Abu Hurayrah version (6/61, Book of Jihad, “Chapter on Guard Duty”) through Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, in which the Prophet ﷺ says: “Perish the slave of the dinar, the slave of the dirham, the slave of the khamisah (striped cloak): when given he is pleased, when denied he is angry. May he perish and relapse; and if a thorn pierces him, may he find no one to pull it out. Blessed is the servant who holds the reins of his horse in the path of Allah, his hair dishevelled, his feet dusty: if he is placed in the vanguard, he stays with the vanguard; if he is placed in the rearguard, he stays with the rearguard.” The phrase “and if a thorn pierces him, may he find no one to pull it out” means that, should he be pricked, there is no one to remove the thorn with tweezers; in Arabic one says naqash-tu al-shawk (“I removed a thorn”) when extracting it.
(2) He promoted the Muʿtazili innovation. Several leading scholars reject the narration of a truthful and precise transmitter who actively propagates his innovation; al-Nawawi judged this the sounder and fairer view, held by many—if not most—scholars. Abu Ishaq al-Jawzajani allows his reports only when they do not reinforce his innovation.
(3) He is Ibrahim b. Abd Allah b. al-Hasan b. Ali b. Abi Talib, one of the noble Alid princes.