Ibn Lahīʿah narrated to us—through ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb, from his father, from his grandfather—that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“He is not of us who imitates others. Do not imitate the Jews or the Christians, for the greeting of the Jews is to point with the fingers, whereas the greeting of the Christians is to wave with the palms.”
He (the author) said: Ibn al-Mubārak also transmitted this report from Ibn Lahīʿah, but without attributing it to the Prophet.
Although its chain contains a weak narrator, the elevated ḥadīth, “Whoever imitates a people is one of them,” has already been cited, and it is authentically preserved as a statement of Ḥudhayfah ibn al-Yamān. Thus, Ibn Lahīʿah’s narration serves as supporting evidence, as Aḥmad and others maintained.
Abū Dāwūd likewise recorded: Qutaybah ibn Saʿīd al-Thaqafī narrated to us, Muḥammad ibn Rabīʿah narrated to us, and Abū al-Ḥasan narrated to us
(1) The word “ibn” is omitted in MS A.
(2) MS B reads bil-kaf (“with the palm”).
(3) That is, Abu Isa al-Tirmidhi.
(4) Al-Tirmidhi also states immediately after the report: “Its chain of transmission is weak.” See Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Book of Asking Permission, chapter “The Disapproval of Greeting with a Hand Gesture,” hadith no. 2695 (5:56–57). The present author notes, however, that although the chain is weak, the report is supported by corroborating evidence.
(5) The same hadith was cited above (p. 272).
(6) See Tahdhib al-Tahdhib 5:373–79; Mizaan al-Iʿtidaal 2:477; and Tadhkirat al-Huffaz 1:239.
(7) MS A adds: qala: haddathana (“he said: he narrated to us”).
(8) MS A likewise reads: qala: haddathana.
(9) The narrator is Muhammad ibn Rabiʿah al-Kilabi al-Ruʾasi al-Kufi, Abu Abd Allah, a cousin of Wakiʿ. Leading hadith critics such as Ibn Maʿin, al-Daraqutni, Ibn Hibban, and Abu Dawud consider him reliable. He belongs to the ninth generation of Kufan transmitters. See Tahdhib al-Tahdhib 9:162–63, no. 235.