Perhaps, then, this discrepancy stems from Sharik himself. Although he is counted among the transmitters relied upon by the two Shaykhs (al-Bukhari and Muslim), critics have spoken about the weakness of his memory, as is set forth at length in the biographical works on transmitters. Al-Hafiz Ibn Ḥajar states in al-Taqrīb: “Reliable, but prone to error.”

The very hadith we are discussing confirms this in several places—one of which I have already mentioned, while the others will be noted later, in whole or in part. For that reason Imam Muslim did not reproduce Sharik’s wording, as noted earlier, and Ibn Kathir wrote in his Tafsir:

“It is just as Muslim said: Sharik ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Abi Namr became confused about this report; his memory deteriorated and he did not transmit it accurately, as will be shown in the other narrations. Some scholars even regard it as a dream that served as a prelude to what followed. Allah knows best.”

Al-Hafiz al-Bayhaqi adds: “In Sharik’s narration there is an extra phrase that he alone reports and which supports the view of those who claim that the Prophet ﷺ actually saw Allah—namely his words: ‘Then the Almighty, Lord of Glory, drew near and came down until he was two bow-lengths away, or even closer.’ The opinion of ʿA’ishah, Ibn Masʿud, and Abu Hurayrah, who understood these verses to speak of the Prophet’s ﷺ vision of Gabriel, is the sounder interpretation.”