Moreover, Allah distinguished Moses with a privilege beyond His pleasure, saying:

“And I bestowed upon you love from Me, that you might be brought up under My eye.” Sūrat Tā Hā, 39.

Furthermore, addressing him as “O son of ‘Imrān” differs from the way Allah describes addressing him in the Quran, where He says, “O Moses.” That other form of address plainly involves a measure of disparagement.

Another example is his report that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb, may Allah be pleased with him, wrote to Abū Mūsā al-Ash‘arī: “To proceed: all goodness lies in contentment. If you can be content, then be so; otherwise, be patient.” These are fine words, even if their chain of transmission is unknown.

Although it is clear that some of what he cited—with connected chains, disconnected chains, or chains omitted at the outset—is authentic, he cited this particular statement from Abū Sulaymān only with a disconnected chain. There is agreement that such a transmission cannot establish its attribution to Abū Sulaymān. For although some say that a report with a disconnected chain constitutes proof, such a person does not know that a report with a disconnected chain is like a weak report and a non-