…fasting by day and praying by night; yet standing guard (ribat) for a single day in the path of Allah, positioned behind the vulnerable flank of the Muslims and counting it as a day of Ramadan, is dearer to Allah and brings a greater reward than a thousand years of worship made up of fasting by day and praying by night. If Allah then returns him safely to his family, no sin will be recorded against him for a thousand years, good deeds will be written for him, and the recompense of ribat will continue to flow to him. Al-Busiri states in Al-Zawaid, fol. 177: “This isnad is weak because of Muhammad ibn Ya‘la and his shaykh ‘Umar ibn Subh; furthermore, Mak‘hul did not meet Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, and in any case Mak‘hul practiced tadlis and here he reports by ‘an‘ana.” ‘Abd al-Azim al-Mundhiri says in Al-Targhib wa-l-Tarhib 2/245, in the chapter on ribat: “The marks of fabrication are evident in it, and that is no surprise, for its transmitter is ‘Umar ibn Subh al-Khurasani; were it not that the report appears in the basic collections I would not have cited it.” Ibn Kathir comments in Jami‘ al-Masanid: “This hadith is most likely fabricated, because of its obvious exaggeration and because it is transmitted by ‘Umar ibn Subh, one of the well-known liars who forged hadith.” (1) Al-Tirmidhi records it in his Sunan, no. 1095, Book of Establishing Prayer, chapter: “What has been reported regarding adornment on Friday.” He said: “Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us; a certain shaykh of ours narrated to us; from ‘Abd al-Hamid; from Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Hibban; from Yusuf ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Salam; from his father, who said: The Prophet ﷺ addressed us and declared: ‘What would it matter if one of you bought two garments for Friday, other than the two he wears for his work?’” Al-Mizzi (fol. 625) adds that ‘Abd ibn Humayd also transmitted it from Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah, from al-Waqidi, from ‘Abd al-Hamid ibn Ja‘far. I say: the wording of the hadith is authentic through a chain other than that of al-Waqidi; it is reported by Abu Dawud (1078) and Ibn Majah (1095) with a sound isnad, as al-Busiri affirms in Al-Zawaid, fol. 72. (2) The hadith is found in Sahih Muslim (142), Book of Faith, chapter: “The ruler who deceives his subjects deserves the Fire,” and again in the Book on Governance, chapter: “The merit of the just ruler.” Al-Bukhari also narrates it, 13/112–113, through Abu Nu‘aym from Abu al-Ashhab with this isnad, and it appears in the Musnad 5/25 and 27.