Furthermore, although some critics have spoken against Muḥammad ibn ʿAjlān, his narrations are rated ḥasan, as has been noted repeatedly above.

He is corroborated by Usāmah ibn Zayd in the Musnad of Aḥmad, though only for the first clause of the report. Al-Ḥāfiẓ then cited the second clause and said:
“It was recorded by Ibn Khuzaymah in his Ṣaḥīḥ, and by al-Tirmidhī, who graded it ḥasan. Its chain is sound up to ʿAmr; therefore, whoever deems his notebook authentic will declare the ḥadīth authentic.”

This suggests that Ibn Khuzaymah transmitted it through a route other than that of Ibn ʿAjlān, the route found in al-Tirmidhī, for I do not think al-Ḥāfiẓ would authenticate a chain that contains Ibn ʿAjlān. Allah knows best.

Al-Khattābī says in al-Maʿālim:
“al-ḥalaq—with a kasrah on the ḥāʾ and a fatḥah on the lām—refers to a group sitting in a circle. One of our shaykhs used to narrate it as, ‘He forbade al-ḥalq,’ pronouncing the lām sukun, and he told me that for forty years he had never shaved his head before the Friday prayer. I said to him, ‘The correct word is al-ḥalaq, the plural of ḥalqah (circle). What is disliked is gathering before the prayer for study and discussion; one is instead enjoined to busy himself with the prayer and listen attentively to the sermon and the remembrance. When that is finished, the gathering and sitting in circles may take place.’ He replied, ‘You have relieved me—may Allah reward you with good,’ and he was among the righteous—may Allah have mercy on him.”

Al-Mirqāt adds: “The reason for the prohibition is that once people sit in circles they usually start talking and raising their voices; in that state they will not listen to the sermon, although they have been commanded to do so.” That is how he explained it.