a blind man came to the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and said: ‘My sight has been afflicted, so pray to Allah for me.’ He said: ‘Go and perform ablution, pray two units of prayer, then say: “O Allah, I ask You and turn to You through my Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet of mercy. O Muhammad, I seek your intercession with my Lord for the restoration of my sight. O Allah, accept my intercession for myself, and accept my Prophet’s intercession for the restoration of my sight.” If a need arises, do likewise.’ Then Allah restored his sight.”

Ibn Abī Khaythamah said:

“This Abū Ja‘far—from whom Hammād ibn Salamah narrated—is named Umayr ibn Yazīd. He is the same Abū Ja‘far from whom Shu‘bah narrates.” He then mentioned the hadith through Uthmān ibn Umar, from Shu‘bah.

I say:

This route contains the words “accept my intercession for myself,” as does the route through Rawh ibn al-Qāsim. It also contains another addition: “If a need arises, do likewise”—or he said—“If a need arose, he would do likewise.”

It may be said that this agrees with the statement of Uthmān ibn Hunayf. However, Shu‘bah and Rawh ibn al-Qāsim were more accurate in preserving reports than Hammād ibn Salamah. The differences in wording indicate that a narration such as this may have been related by meaning rather than verbatim. The statement “If a need arose, he would do likewise” may have been interpolated from Uthmān’s words, rather than being the words of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. For he did not say, “If you had a need, you would do likewise”; rather, he said, “If a need arose, he would do likewise.”

In short, even if this addition were established, it would provide no proof. At most, it would mean that Uthmān ibn Hunayf thought that some parts of the supplication could be recited while others were omitted. He did not instruct the man to recite the prescribed supplication, but only part of it, and he thought that this was prescribed after the Prophet’s death—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Yet the wording of the hadith contradicts this, for the hadith states that the blind man asked the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—