(1) Recorded by Ahmad (18162, 18181), Abū Dāwūd (3177), al-Nasā’ī in al-Kubrā (6854–6856), Ibn Mājah (1481), and al-Bayhaqī (4:23), through Yahyā ibn Abī Kathīr, from Abū Salamah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmān, from Thawbān, the freedman of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. Al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Hibbān (3049), al-Hākim (1:355), and al-Albānī in Ahkām al-Janā’iz (p. 75) graded it authentic. Abū Hātim judged this transmission erroneous in al-‘Ilal (1078), favoring the chain through Yahyā ibn Abī Kathīr, from Zayd ibn Sallām, from his grandfather Abū Sallām, from Thawbān, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. He considered transmission through Abū Salamah from Thawbān unlikely. Abū Sallām is Mamtūr al-Habashī, a trustworthy narrator who transmits reports with omitted links in their chains (irsāl). He did not hear from Thawbān, as stated by Ibn Ma‘īn, Ahmad, Ibn al-Madīnī, and Abū Hātim. See Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb (10:296). Al-Tirmidhī (1052) also recorded a similar report attributed to the Prophet through Abū Bakr ibn Abī Maryam (who is weak), from Rāshid ibn Sa‘d (who frequently transmits reports with omitted links), from Thawbān. He then mentioned that it was also transmitted as a statement of the Companion and quoted al-Bukhārī as saying that the version attributed only to the Companion is more authentic. (2) Kāf reads: “ittaba‘tum (you follow).” ‘Ayn reads: “janāzah (a funeral procession).” (3) Recorded by al-Bukhārī (1310, 1309) and Muslim (959), from Abū Sa‘īd al-Khudrī. (4) See Iqtidā’ al-Sirāt al-Mustaqīm (1:230).