and it contains numerous rubāʿī (four-link) narrations, along with a single thalāthī (three-link) report that al-Tirmidhī records in the Book of Tribulations (2260). He writes:

“Ismāʿīl ibn Mūsā al-Fazārī, the maternal grandson of al-Suddi of Kufa, related to us; ʿUmar ibn Shākir related to us, from Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘A time will come upon the people when the one who perseveres in his religion will be like someone holding a burning ember.’”

Al-Tirmidhī then remarks, “This hadith is singular (gharīb) through this chain.” End quote.

The isnād contains ʿUmar ibn Shākir, who is weak; nevertheless, the report is authentic in light of corroborating narrations—see al-Albānī, al-Silsilah al-Ṣaḥīḥah, no. 957.

Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī comprises fifty books and a total of 3,956 hadiths. The finest commentary on it is Tuḥfat al-Ahwadhī by Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Mubārakfūrī (d. 1353 AH).