Al-Dhahabī said in al-Du‘afā’: “Ibn Hibbān said: ‘He narrates fabricated reports.’”

Curiously, al-Dhahabī declared this chain authentic, following al-Hākim (4/165). The latter narrated the first portion of this hadith—the portion found in Ahmad—whereas the passage cited here is its other portion. If you wish, consult al-Ahādīth al-Da‘īfa (2822).

I also found another route of transmission for it, narrated by Hibbān ibn ‘Alī, from Husayn ibn Madh‘ūr, from Quraysh al-Tamīmī, from ‘Abd Allah, with similar wording.

It was narrated by al-Tabarānī in al-Mu‘jam al-Kabīr (3/83/1).

However, its chain is weak and obscure. I could find no biographical entries for Husayn ibn Madh‘ūr or Quraysh al-Tamīmī, while Hibbān ibn ‘Alī al-‘Anazī is weak, as stated in al-Taqrīb.

20—(The Messenger, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, said: “The lawful is clear, and the unlawful is clear. Between them are doubtful matters which many people do not know to be lawful or unlawful. Whoever avoids them to safeguard his religion and honor will be safe, while whoever falls into any of them is liable to fall into the unlawful. He is like one who grazes around a protected reserve (a demarcated area set aside by the ruler for his livestock alone to graze, from which all others are barred from taking anything): he is liable to stray into it. Truly, every king has a protected reserve, and truly Allah’s protected reserve is what He has forbidden.”

Narrated by al-Bukhārī and Muslim, among others, from al-Nu‘mān ibn Bashīr. The wording given here is from al-Tirmidhī’s narration). p. 35. Tuhfat al-Ashrāf <1/9>

Authentic. It was narrated by al-Bukhārī (22/1), Muslim (5/50–51), Abū Dāwūd (3329), al-Tirmidhī (1/227), al-Dārimī (2/245), Ibn Mājah (3984), and Ahmad (4/269, 270), through several chains from al-Sha‘bī, from al-Nu‘mān ibn Bashīr, with this wording. The wording—