(1) Following the hadith of ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān (31), which states that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would run his fingers through his beard. Al-Bukhārī said, as quoted in al-‘Ilal al-Kabīr (p. 34): “The strongest report on running the fingers through the beard, in my judgment, is the hadith of ‘Uthmān. I asked, ‘But do they not criticize this hadith?’ He replied, ‘It is hasan (sound).’” (2) ك reads: “that the Messenger of Allah.” (3) In his Ta‘līqa ‘alā al-‘Ilal (1/47), Ibn ‘Abd al-Hādī quotes al-Khallāl’s al-‘Ilal: “Abū Dāwūd—meaning al-Sijistānī—reported to us: I asked Ahmad ibn Hanbal about running the fingers through the beard. He replied, ‘Hadiths have been narrated concerning running the fingers through the beard, but none is established as authentic. The best report on this is that of Shaqīq from ‘Uthmān.’” See also Abū Dāwūd’s Masā’il Ahmad (p. 13), which does not contain the highlighted passage. I have not located Abū Zur‘a’s statement, but I found that his companion and peer, Abū Hātim, said the same, as recorded in his son’s al-‘Ilal (101). For a fuller discussion, see Ibn ‘Abd al-Hādī’s Ta‘līqa (pp. 44–50). Al-‘Uqaylī said in al-Du‘afā’ (2/198): “There are hadiths concerning running the fingers through the beard whose chains are weak.” Elsewhere (6/164), he said: “The transmission concerning running the fingers through the beard is subject to criticism and weakness.” (4) Abū Dāwūd (148), al-Tirmidhī (40), and Ibn Mājah (446). Also recorded by Abū ‘Ubayd in al-Tuhūr (383), Ahmad (18010, 18016), al-Tabarānī (20/306), and al-Bayhaqī (1/76). Al-Tirmidhī graded it hasan gharīb. Ibn Abī Hātim also recorded it in the introduction to al-Jarh wa-l-Ta‘dīl (1/31–32), and al-Bayhaqī transmitted it through him. This version includes the account of Mālik’s exchange with ‘Abd Allāh ibn Wahb. The hadith’s chains converge on Ibn Lahī‘a, as the author indicates. Assuming that the account involving Mālik is authentic, al-Layth ibn Sa‘d and ‘Amr ibn al-Hārith also transmitted the report alongside Ibn Lahī‘a; the hadith master, however, judged this to be an error. See Ithāf al-Mahara (13/177).