Then he cited a number of hadiths concerning Ibn Sayyād, as will be mentioned later.

He then said: “On the whole, there is no reason to include Ibn Sayyād among the Companions. If he was the Dajjal, he was certainly not a Companion, because he will die an unbeliever; and if he was someone else, he was not a Muslim when he met the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him.” (1)

However, if he later embraced Islam, then he was a Successor who had seen the Prophet, as al-Dhahabī said.

Ibn Hajar also included a biographical entry on ʿUmāra ibn Sayyād in his book Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb, saying: “ʿUmāra ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Sayyād al-Ansārī, Abū Ayyūb al-Madanī. He narrated from Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allah, Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib, and ʿAtāʾ ibn Yasār. Those who narrated from him included al-Dahhāk ibn ʿUthmān al-Khuzāmī, Mālik ibn Anas, and others. Ibn Maʿīn and al-Nasāʾī declared him trustworthy. Abū Hātim said, ‘His hadith is acceptable.’ Ibn Saʿd said, ‘He was trustworthy and narrated few hadiths.’ Mālik ibn Anas did not regard anyone as superior to him in merit. They used to say, ‘We are the descendants of Ushayhib ibn al-Najjār,’ but Banū al-Najjār rejected their claim. Today they are allies of Banū Mālik ibn al-Najjār, and it is not known from whom they descend.” (2)

His Circumstances:

Ibn Sayyād was a charlatan and would at times practice soothsaying, telling the truth on some occasions and lying on others, and thus there spread