his father, from his grandfather, who said:
“My brother and I once sat in a gathering for which I would not exchange even the finest red camels. We had approached, my brother and I, and there was a group of elders from the Companions of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—seated at one of his doors. We did not wish to intrude upon them, so we sat a little apart. They mentioned a verse of the Qur’an and began to dispute over it until their voices grew loud. Then the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—came out angrily, his face reddened, casting dust at them and saying:
‘Calm down, people! It is this very thing that destroyed the nations before you: their disagreements with their prophets and their setting the Scriptures against one another. The Qur’an was not revealed for one part to belie another; rather, it was sent down so that each part confirms the other. Whatever of it you understand, act upon it; and whatever you do not know, refer it to one who is knowledgeable about it.’”
Aḥmad also said: “Abū Muʿāwiyah narrated to us; Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind narrated to us, from …”
(1) I found no indication in the sources I consulted of which “brother” is meant here. It is probably his brother Muhammad ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAs, for the references mention no other brother. See: al-Isabah 3:3, 381; al-Fath al-Rabbani by al-Banna 18:40.
(2) The word mashayikh (pl. of shaykh) refers to those advanced in age, rank, or status.
(3) Copy B and the printed edition read “ashab” (companions), whereas the Musnad of Ahmad has the wording adopted here.
(4) Meaning “a side” or “direction.” See al-Qamus al-Muhit, root ḥ-r, vol. 2, p. 4.
(5) tamaraw means “they argued with one another.”
(6) The clause “it was only revealed so that each part would confirm the other” is missing from copies C and D but appears in the Musnad of Ahmad.
(7) The word “unzila” (was revealed) is omitted in copy Ṭ.
(8) The hadith is reported by Ahmad in the Musnad 2:181. He also records a corroborating chain—ʿAbd al-Razzaq → Muʿammar → al-Zuhri → ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb → his father → his grandfather—at 2:185 in abridged form. Further corroborations will be cited below.
(9) This refers to Muhammad ibn Khazim al-Ḍarir, Abu Muʿawiyah, a freedman of Banu Saʿd. Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: “Abu Muʿawiyah al-Ḍarir, apart from the hadiths of al-Aʿmash, is unstable and does not preserve them well.” Taqrib al-Tahdhib describes him as “trustworthy, the most knowledgeable of people regarding the hadiths of al-Aʿmash, though he may err in narrations from others.” He died in 95 AH. See: al-Jarh wa-l-Taʿdil 7:246–247, no. 1360; Ibn Hajar, Taqrib al-Tahdhib 2:257, no. 167.