he said: “Three men narrated to me: ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Abd al-Ghāfir, Yazīd ibn ‘Abd Allāh ibn al-Shikhkhīr, and al-‘Alā’ ibn Ziyād. Each said, ‘Mutarrif narrated to me, from ‘Iyād, from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).’” In this version, he included the words:

“Indeed, I created all My servants upright in faith.”

He did not say “as Muslims.” Al-Hasan likewise narrated it from Mutarrif, from ‘Iyād. Ibn Ishāq also narrated it from someone whom he did not suspect of dishonesty, from Qatādah through his chain of transmission, with the words:

“Indeed, I created all My servants upright in faith.”

He did not say “as Muslims.”

He said:

“This demonstrates Muhammad ibn Ishāq’s accurate retention, mastery, and precision: he included ‘as Muslims’ when narrating this hadith from Thawr ibn Yazīd, but omitted it when narrating it from Qatādah. Others likewise narrated it from Qatādah without the words ‘as Muslims,’ whereas Thawr included this addition through his chain of transmission. And Allah knows best.”

He said:

“In the language of the Arabs, a hanīf is someone upright and sincere, and nothing is more upright than Islam.”