(1) Ahmad records the hadith in al-Musnad 1 : 437, no. 4157; Ibn Majah, no. 232; al-Tirmidhi, no. 2657; and others, through the chain of Simak ibn Harb → Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd Allah ibn Masud → his father. In this route the wording “Three matters upon which no rancor is held …” does not appear; only the opening phrase is cited: “May Allah brighten the face of one who hears from us a narration …”. The wording that begins with “Three matters …” is transmitted only by Abd al-Malik ibn Umayr from Abd al-Rahman, from Ibn Masud, who combines the two wordings. Abd al-Malik’s reliability is questionable, and Abd al-Rahman heard only a few short reports from his father, among which this is not included. The hadith is also related by Ibrahim al-Nakha‘i → al-Aswad → Ibn Masud with both wordings; see al-Khatib, Sharaf Ashab al-Hadith, p. 26, and Ibn Abd al-Barr, Jami Bayan al-Ilm wa Fadlih, no. 190. This isnad is acceptable, provided it is accurately preserved. Zubayd al-Yami likewise narrates it from Murra ibn Shurahil → Ibn Masud with both wordings; reported by Abu Nuaym, Tarikh Isfahan 2 : 90. That chain contains Umar ibn Ahmad ibn Ishaq al-Ahwazi, the teacher of Abu Hayyan al-Isfahani, whose reliability needs investigation. The report has supporting narrations, the soundest being the hadith of Zayd ibn Thabit in Abu Dawud no. 3660, al-Tirmidhi no. 2656, Ahmad 5 : 183, and others. Al-Tirmidhi graded it hasan, and Ibn Hibban declared it sahih. (2) Reported by Ahmad 5 : 196, no. 21710; al-Nasa’i, no. 847; Abu Dawud, no. 547; and Ibn —