Ahmad: “He was one of the masters of hadith.” Ibn Ma‘īn said: “He is not strong, but he is truthful and conceals gaps in his chains of transmission.” Abū Hātim said: “When he says, ‘He narrated to us,’ his report is acceptable; neither his truthfulness nor his retention is in doubt” (1).

Al-Dāraqutnī (2) narrated a report from Layth ibn Abī Sulaym, who said: “‘Atā’, Tāwūs, and Mujāhid narrated to me, from Jābir, Ibn ‘Umar, and Ibn ‘Abbās, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and his Companions performed the rite of walking between al-Safā and al-Marwah only once for their ‘umrah and Hajj.” The compilers of the four Sunan collections relied on Layth ibn Abī Sulaym’s reports as evidence, and Muslim cited him for corroboration. Ibn Ma‘īn said: “There is nothing wrong with him.” Al-Dāraqutnī said: “He was an adherent of the Sunnah; they objected only to his grouping ‘Atā’, Tāwūs, and Mujāhid together.” ‘Abd al-Wārith said: “He was a repository of knowledge.” Ahmad said: “His hadith narrations are inconsistent, yet people narrated from him.” Al-Nasā’ī and, according to one report, Yahyā considered him weak (3). The hadith of a narrator such as this is sound, even if it does not reach the rank of authentic.

In the two Sahīh collections (4), Jābir said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, entered upon ‘Ā’ishah and found her weeping. [He asked: “What is the matter with you?”] (5). She replied: “I have begun menstruating. The people have ended their state of ihrām, but I have not, and I have not circumambulated the House.” He said: “Bathe, then enter ihrām for Hajj.” She did so and stood at the prescribed stations. Once she became pure, she circumambulated the Ka‘bah and walked between al-Safā and al-Marwah. Then he said: