— “and all of its transmitters are relied upon in the two Ṣaḥīḥ collections.”

Third report: on the authority of ʿĀʾishah, traced back to the Prophet ﷺ:

“O ʿĀʾishah, when someone gives you something without your asking for it, accept it, for it is sustenance that Allah has set before you.”

Ahmad recorded it through the chain of Layth—meaning Ibn Saʿd—from Yazīd ibn al-Hād, from ʿAmr, from al-Muṭṭalib ibn Ḥanṭab. ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿĀmir had sent ʿĀʾishah an allowance and some clothing. She said to the messenger, “My son, I do not accept anything from anyone.” After he left she said, “Bring it back to me,” so they brought it back. She then explained, “I recalled something the Messenger of Allah ﷺ told me,” and she related the hadith.

All of the narrators are found in the Six Books except this al-Muṭṭalib. He is al-Muṭṭalib ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Muṭṭalib ibn Ḥanṭab, identified by his more distant ancestor. He is truthful (ṣadūq) but frequently engages in tadlīs (concealing a transmitter) and irsāl (omitting a link), as stated in Taqrīb.

Al-Haythami said: “Its transmitters are trustworthy, except that al-Muṭṭalib ibn ʿAbd Allah practices tadlīs, and there is disagreement over whether he actually heard from ʿĀʾishah.”

ʿAmr here is ʿAmr ibn Dīnār. Al-Mundhirī remarked: “Ahmad and al-Bayhaqī both narrated it, and the transmitters in Ahmad’s version are reliable.” He then added: “If al-Muṭṭalib did indeed hear directly from ʿĀʾishah, the chain is continuous; otherwise, the intermediary who conveyed it to her is unnamed. Allah knows best.”