sent word to me before the people began fasting: ‘I shall fast tomorrow.’ I did not wish to oppose him, so I fasted, and I shall complete today’s fast until nightfall.” (1)
As for the report from Mu‘āwiya, Ahmad said: Al-Mughīra narrated to us: Sa‘īd ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz narrated to us, saying: Makhūl and Ibn Halbas (2) told me that Mu‘āwiya ibn Abī Sufyān used to say: “I would rather fast a day of Sha‘bān than (3) leave a day of Ramadan unfasted.” (4)
As for the report from ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās, Ahmad said (5): Zayd ibn al-Hubāb narrated to us, saying: Ibn Lahī‘a informed me, from ‘Abd Allāh ibn Hubayra, from ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās, that he used to fast the day whose inclusion in (6) Ramadan was uncertain.
As for the report from Abū Hurayra, Ahmad said (7): ‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn Mahdī narrated to us: Mu‘āwiya ibn Sālih narrated to us, from Abū Maryam (8), who said: I heard Abū Hurayra say: “I would rather
(1) Reported by Abū Bakr al-Shāfi‘ī in al-Ghaylāniyyāt (208), and through him by Ibn al-Jawzī in Dar’ al-Lawm wa-l-Daym (p. 54). Ibn Abī Shayba also reported an abridged version (9542).
(2) Thus in the manuscript sources. The printed edition reads “Yūnus ibn Maysara ibn Halbas,” which is his full name.
(3) “Min” (than) appears in ك and ع, but not in the other manuscripts.
(4) Cited by Ibn al-Jawzī in Dar’ al-Lawm wa-l-Daym (p. 54). The correct name of Ahmad’s teacher is “Abū al-Mughīra.”
(5) Cited by Ibn al-Jawzī in Dar’ al-Lawm wa-l-Daym (p. 55). Ibn Lahī‘a has been criticized as a narrator.
(6) ك reads “annahu min” (that it belongs to). The adopted reading follows the other manuscripts. The word “yashukku” (he doubts) is omitted from ع.
(7) “Ahmad” is omitted from the printed edition.
(8) ق, م, and مب incorrectly read “Ibn Abī Maryam.” See Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb (12:231). The printed edition adds “mawlā Abī Hurayra” (the client of Abū Hurayra) after it; this addition is absent from the manuscript sources.