Although Ibn al-Muthannā has indeed been challenged for the reliability of his memory—al-Ḥāfiẓ writes in al-Taqrīb: “Truthful, yet prone to many mistakes”—I maintain that his report, when used for corroboration, is unobjectionable. Al-Haythamī records it in Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid, remarking: “Al-Ṭabarānī transmitted it in al-Awsat with narrators who belong to the ranks of the Ṣaḥīḥ, and al-Bazzār related it in abridged form.”

There is another supporting, though mursal, report cited by Abū Dāwūd: “Mūsā—that is, Ibn Ismāʿīl—told us; Abān told us; Qatādah told us; Bakr ibn ʿAbd Allāh conveyed to me from the Prophet ﷺ on this point, who said: ‘Both of them contain filth,’” and the wording in both places is “filth.” This chain is sound; every transmitter is trustworthy and occurs in the two Ṣaḥīḥ collections.

Additional corroborations exist with continuous chains, but each contains some weakness; anyone interested may consult them in al-Talkhīṣ.

In short, with these supporting narrations the ḥadith is authentic and definitive evidence, beyond all doubt, and the authorities already named have judged it sound.

The report is therefore a clear proof for the ruling we cited, and there is a related narration from ʿĀʾishah that will be discussed at the close of the fourth issue. Al-Khaṭṭābī remarks in Maʿālim al-Sunan: “I derive from it the legal ruling that whoever prays while an impurity is on his garment unbeknownst to him, his prayer is valid and he need not repeat it.”