those in their eighties. This is precisely the point at which al-Ṭabarānī’s confusion persisted, for he frequently writes in his books: “Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Barqī narrated to us,” even though he never met him at all. Rather, al-Ṭabarānī was mistaken: he met the man’s brother, ʿAbd al-Raḥīm, narrated copiously from him, and assumed that his name was Aḥmad, thus slipping in the name.
Their brother:
34 – ʿAbd al-Raḥīm ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥīm ibn Saʿīd al-Barqī *
The traditionist, Abū Saʿīd, who transmitted the Sīrah from ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Hishām.
He also reported from: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yūsuf al-Tinnīsī and a number of others.
The Sīrah was taken from him by Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar ibn al-Ward, and Abū al-Qāsim al-Ṭabarānī transmitted many narrations from him as well, yet the latter errs and calls him Aḥmad. Thus he says in his Muʿjam: “Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥīm al-Barqī narrated to us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yūsuf narrated to us.”
He then cited a hadith (1); moreover, he did not list ʿAbd al-Raḥīm under the letter ʿAyn,
(*) Al-ʿIbar (by the author) 2/77; Shadharat al-Dhahab 2/193.
(1) Recorded in al-Tabarani’s Muʿjam 1/48-49 with the complete chain: “Hisham b. Hamid (misprinted in the edition as Jamil) narrated to us, Zayd b. Waqid narrated from Sulayman b. Musa, from Kathir b. Murra, from Yazid b. al-Akhnes—who was a Companion—that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘Compete with one another only in two matters: a man to whom Allah has given the Quran, so he recites it night and day, following its teachings; another man sees him and says, “If Allah would give me what He has given so-and-so, I would do as he does.” And a man to whom Allah has given wealth, so he spends it in charity; another man says the same.’” Ahmad also relates it (4/104-105) through al-Rabiʿ b. Nafiʿ from al-Haytham b. Hamid with this isnad, which is hasan. It is cited in al-Haythami’s Majmaʿ 3/108, who further attributes it to al-Tabarani in al-Kabir. Parallel reports are found from Ibn Masʿud in Bukhari 1/153 and Muslim no. 816; from Ibn ʿUmar in Bukhari 9/65, Muslim no. 815 and Tirmidhi no. 1937; and from Abu Hurayra in Bukhari 9/65.