transmitted by Ya‘lā ibn al-Ashdaq, from ‘Abd Allāh ibn Jarād, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “Whoever among you offers the midmorning prayer should offer it with devotion, for a man may offer it for a year, then forget it and abandon it (1). It then yearns for him just as a she-camel yearns for (2) her calf when she has lost it” (3).
How astonishing that al-Hākim should cite this and similar reports as evidence! He narrates this hadith in a book devoted specifically to the midmorning prayer. This is a collection of reports fabricated in the name of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)—I mean the collection of Ya‘lā ibn al-Ashdaq. Ibn ‘Adī said (4): Ya‘lā ibn al-Ashdaq narrated many rejected hadiths from his uncle, ‘Abd Allāh ibn Jarād, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Both he and his uncle are unknown. I was informed that Abū Mus-hir said: I asked Ya‘lā ibn al-Ashdaq, “What did your uncle hear from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?” He replied, “Sufyān’s Compendium, Mālik’s Muwatta’, and some miscellaneous reports!”
Abū Hātim ibn Hibbān said (5): Ya‘lā met ‘Abd Allāh ibn Jarād. When he grew old, people devoid of religious scruples gathered around him and fabricated nearly two hundred hadiths for him. He then began narrating them without realizing it. One of the scholars among our associates asked him, “What did you hear from ‘Abd Allāh ibn Jarād?” He replied, “This collection and Sufyān’s Compendium.” It is not permissible to transmit reports from him under any circumstances.