“In the hadith we observe a certain confusion.” Thus he said. But if you recall what we have demonstrated regarding the hadith’s authenticity, and if you know that the report from ʿAtāʾ directly from the companion of the slave-girl is invalid on account of its chain of transmission—since it comes via Saʿīd ibn Zayd, who, though personally trustworthy, is not a strong memorizer—then you will understand why many scholars have deemed him weak. In fact, Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd judged him severely weak. The ḥāfiẓ in al-Taqrīb alluded to this when he remarked: “He is truthful but prone to confusions.” Moreover, the details about “the hand” and the interrogative phrase found in his version are unique to him and uncorroborated by any other transmitters—neither among the ḥuffāẓ nor others. Such a solitary reading is undoubtedly classified as anomalous by hadith scholars. Reflect—may God preserve us from following vain desires—how this man (al-Kawtharī) relied on this rejected report alone. Not only that, but he leveraged it to undermine the firmly established narration, agreed upon by all muḥaddithīn, treating the anomalous report as evidence of the authentic report’s weakness and confusion. What is the believer to say about a man who uses his learning to cast doubt on the hadiths of the Prophet, peace be upon him? May God requite him according to his deeds. And he did not stop there: he further accused the narrator (who, whoever he may be, is deemed reliable, since all transmitters of this hadith are trustworthy) of fabricating statements on behalf of the Messenger of God. For his earlier implication was that the narrator attributed to the Prophet, peace be upon him, the words spoken to the slave-girl—“Where is God?”—whereas al-Kawtharī contends that the Prophet never said this. Instead, the narrator supposedly substituted it for Saʿīd ibn Zayd’s wording: “So the Prophet, peace be upon him, stretched out his hand toward her, querying: ‘Who is in the heaven?’” —End of al-Albānī’s words (Mukhtaṣar al-ʿIlal, p. 82). I say: al-Kawtharī has been overly bold, granting himself free rein to vilify the imams of Ahl al-Sunnah and their works, to attack and disparage hadith transmitters with such false allegations that he seems never at rest unless he maligns them with injustice. If you, dear reader, seek further evidence and clarification, consult the study I co-authored on Ibn al-Qayyim’s Kitāb al-Sawa’iq al-Munazzalah. You will see that al-Kawtharī’s excesses have made him notorious among innovators as one of the most hostile to the imams of Islam and to Muslim creed. His title of “Imam”—conferred by his followers—is nothing but granting what is not deserved to one who does not deserve it. And God is the One whose help is sought. (1) In other copies it reads “Abu Bakr ibn al-Naqūr.” He is Abu Bakr ibn al-Naqūr, ʿAbdallāh ibn Muḥammad ibn Abī…