he received prophethood (1). Concerning this hadith, Abū Dāwūd said in his Masā’il (Questions) (2): “I heard Ahmad relate to them the hadith of al-Haytham ibn Jamīl, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Muthannā, from Thumāmah, from Anas, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, offered a birth sacrifice on his own behalf. Ahmad then said: ‘ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Muharrar, from Qatādah, from Anas, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, offered a birth sacrifice on his own behalf’ (3).” Muhannā said: “Ahmad said (4): ‘This report is unacceptable,’ and he judged ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Muharrar to be weak.”
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Abū Dāwūd related (5) from Abū Rāfiʿ, who said: “I saw the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, give the call to prayer in the ear of al-Hasan ibn ʿAlī when Fātimah gave birth to him.”
(1) Ibn Hazm cited it through Ibn Ayman in al-Muhallā (7:528). It was transmitted with a connected chain by al-Tahāwī in Sharh Mushkil al-Āthār (no. 1053), al-Tabarānī in al-Awsat (no. 994), and al-Diyā’ al-Maqdisī in al-Mukhtāra (no. 1833). Scholars differed over whether to accept or reject this hadith. See al-Bayhaqī’s al-Sunan al-Kubrā (9:300), al-Badr al-Munīr (9:339), al-Talkhīs al-Habīr (4:147), Fath al-Bārī (9:595), and al-Silsila al-Sahīha (no. 2726).
(2) I could not find it in Abū Dāwūd’s Masā’il. The author quoted it in Tuhfat al-Mawdūd (p. 129) from al-Khallāl, with his chain of transmission leading to Abū Dāwūd.
(3) Narrated by ‘Abd al-Razzāq (no. 7960), al-Bazzār (no. 7281), and al-Rūyānī (no. 1371).
(4) “Ahmad said” is absent from manuscript kāf.
(5) No. 5105; also al-Tirmidhī (no. 1514). Its chain of transmission is weak because of ‘Āsim ibn ‘Ubayd Allāh al-‘Umarī, who has been criticized, and the hadith has no corroborating reports that strengthen it. See al-Silsila al-Da‘īfa (nos. 321 and 6121).