I say: His narrations are found in all the principal collections, and he shows only the slightest trace of Shiʿi leanings.
Ahmad ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Yusuf the Qurʾan-reciter informed us; Muhammad ibn Ismaʿil informed us; Yahya ibn Mahmud informed us; Fatimah bint ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAqil informed us; Muhammad ibn ʿAbd Allah informed us; Abu al-Qasim al-Tabarani informed us; Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn al-Nadr al-Azdi narrated to us; Malik ibn Ismaʿil al-Nahdi narrated to us; Asbat ibn Nasr narrated from al-Suddi, from Subayh, the freedman of Umm Salamah, from Zayd ibn Arqam:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to ʿAli, Fatimah, al-Hasan, and al-Husayn: “I am at war with whoever fights you, and at peace with whoever makes peace with you.”
Asbat, from al-Suddi, is the sole transmitter of this report.
Al-Tirmidhi (1) transmitted it through Sulayman ibn ʿAbd al-Jabbar from ʿAli ibn Qadim; Ibn Majah transmitted it through al-Hulwani; and others transmitted it through Abu Ghassan—all of them from Asbat.
As for Subayh, al-Tirmidhi said, “He is unknown.”
Abu Ahmad al-Hakim related: Ḥusayn al-Ghazi told us, saying:
I asked al-Bukhari about Abu Ghassan. He replied, “And what exactly are you asking about?”
I said, “About Shiʿi tendencies.”
He said, “He follows the outlook of the people of his town. Had you seen ʿUbayd Allah ibn Musa, Abu Nuʿaym, and a group of our Kufan shaykhs, you would not have asked us about Abu Ghassan.”
I remark: Abu Nuʿaym and ʿUbayd Allah both held Abu Bakr and ʿUmar in great esteem (2); they only found fault with Muʿawiyah and his relatives. May Allah be pleased with all the Companions.