compilers. This would thus accord with the reports of Qatādah and al-Hakam from ‘Ikrimah, and that of Salamah ibn ‘Amr, which state that it occurred on the night of the Ascension.

As for al-Tirmidhī’s narration of the aforementioned hadiths, the correct view is that they are established, as the leading hadith scholars maintain. Ahmad therefore cited them as evidence and said, “The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) says, ‘I saw my Lord.’” He thus censured those who rejected what these reports entail. The report of ‘Ikrimah from Ibn ‘Abbās is indeed established, and it is the strongest of them. Ahmad mentioned that the scholars had accepted it and said, “Narrate it, for the scholars have narrated it.”

As for his statement in al-Athram’s narration, “There are inconsistencies in its chain of transmission; the underlying report is one and the same, but they have transmitted it inconsistently,” this is correct: they undoubtedly differed over its chain of transmission. Yet he did not say that this necessarily renders its text weak, nor did he say that its text was unestablished. Rather, similar inconsistencies occur in many hadiths that are nevertheless established. These transmission routes, despite their inconsistencies, clearly indicate to anyone who examines the hadith closely and understands it well that the report has been reliably preserved