nor has he transmitted an objectionable text. According to Ibn Ḥibbān’s criterion for trustworthy narrators he therefore qualifies as reliable, although I did not find his name in the copy of Ibn Ḥibbān’s al-Thiqat that I possess.
To sum up, the isnād is acceptable as corroborative evidence. Al-Ḥāfiẓ remained silent about it in Fatḥ al-Bārī; after quoting the version of ʿĀʾishah recorded by Muslim he adds:
“Aḥmad also transmits it with the wording, ‘while exposing his thighs,’ without any hesitation, and he has a similar report from Ḥafṣah. Al-Ṭaḥāwī and al-Bayhaqī likewise narrated it.”
His teacher al-Haythamī says in Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid:
“It was related by Aḥmad, al-Ṭabarānī in al-Kabīr and al-Awsat, and by Abū Yaʿlā in a highly abridged form, and its chain is sound (ḥasan).”
- The second corroboration is from Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ entered one of the orchards of the Anṣār. Inside was a well, so he sat on its rim, dangled his legs, and part of his thigh was uncovered. He told me to sit at the gate. It was not long before Abū Bakr arrived; I informed the Prophet ﷺ, and he said, ‘Grant him entry and give him the good news of Paradise.’ …” — the remainder of the report follows the same pattern.
Al-Ṭaḥāwī recorded it in Mushkil al-Āthār with the chain: Fuhayd ibn Sulaymān → Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yūnus → Abū Muʿāwiyah → ʿAmr ibn Muslim, the keeper of the enclosed structure, → Anas. At the end he adds:
“When the Prophet ﷺ saw him, he covered his thigh. They asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, why did you cover your thigh when ʿUthmān arrived?’ He replied, ‘I feel shy before someone of whom even the angels are shy.’”