I reply: He is Usāmah ibn Zayd al-Laythī. The settled verdict of the leading critical scholars is that his narrations are classed as ḥasan (good) so long as they do not contradict stronger reports, and for that reason a number of ḥadith masters graded this narration of his as good. In the present wording, however, it is anomalous or rejected, for it is transmitted solely—without corroboration from the other trustworthy narrators—by Muʿāwiyah ibn Hishām, who “has a weakness in his memory.” The sound wording, as al-Bayhaqī stated, is instead: “… upon those who arrange the rows,” as I noted in my commentary on al-Mishkāt (1096) and recorded in my books Ḍaʿīf Abī Dāwūd (153) and Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd (680).
- Hadith 1164: “… it is the period from the time the imām sits until the prayer is concluded.” Reported by Muslim.
I reply: The version judged sound by the leading imams is that it is mawqūf—attributed only to the Companion Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī. This was also the verdict of Imām al-Dāraqutnī, and I have explained the matter in Ḍaʿīf Abī Dāwūd (193).
- Hadith 1187: “… let him open the prayer with two light rakʿahs.” Reported by Muslim.
I reply: Other collections transmit it from Abū Hurayrah as a marfūʿ report describing the Prophet’s ﷺ practice, and that is the correct version. The wording that presents it as his statement is anomalous, as I demonstrated in Ḍaʿīf Abī Dāwūd (240).
- Hadith 1243: “… The most beloved of My servants to Me are those who hasten to break the fast.” Reported by al-Tirmidhī, who said, “A good ḥadith.”
I reply: This grading is open to objection, because the chain revolves around Qurrah ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, who is weak on account of poor memory. I have laid out the scholars’ criticisms of him under Hadith 2 of Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl fī Takhrīj Aḥādīth Manār al-Sabīl.
- Hadith 1256: “From Mujībah al-Bāhiliyyah …” Reported by Abū Dāwūd.
I reply: Its isnād is weak, as I have clarified in al-Taʿlīq al-Raghīb ʿalā al-Targhīb.