Concerning the Prayer of Fear

His statement under number 2: “It is reported from Ibn Masʿūd: ‘Then he pronounced the salām, and these others rose to pray one rakʿah on their own, after which they too pronounced the salām.’”

I say: The author did not actually cite this report; it is narrated by Abū Dāwūd and Aḥmad. Its chain is weak, for it comes through Khuṣayf—who is himself weak—on the authority of Abū ʿUbaydah from Ibn Masʿūd, and Abū ʿUbaydah never heard from him. The report is listed in Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 3/49 and in Ḍaʿīf Abī Dāwūd 229–230.

His statement under number 3, after quoting the ḥadīth of Jābir: “In a narration recorded by Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd, and al-Nasāʾī it says: ‘The Prophet ﷺ led us in the Prayer of Fear …’”

I say: In the sources he names, this version is not from Jābir at all; it is from Abū Bakrah, as al-Majd likewise noted in al-Muntaqā. Abū Dāwūd did not transmit any ḥadīth of Jābir on this subject—neither with these words nor any others. The first wording is Aḥmad’s, and it is recorded in Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd 1135.

His statement, after citing the ḥadīth of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Unays concerning the pursuer’s prayer, where he said: “It was narrated by Aḥmad and Abū Dāwūd, and al-Ḥāfiẓ graded its chain ḥasan.”

I say: That grading is open to question, for the report is transmitted by the son of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Unays, whose name is not given. ʿAbd Allāh had several sons—some reliable, others not. Al-Mundhirī stated that the narrator is ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Anas; if that is correct, he counts among the unknown transmitters, as I clarified in Ḍaʿīf Abī Dāwūd 232. I have also failed to find a supporting narration that would strengthen it. See Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 589. And Allah knows best.